5&-na''3?f*jjS  E 


?     A  JL  A  *  ^      X--/jr**\.  X     X  JL-«i. 

OF  •  NEW-YORK 

BY 

-rWILLIAM-aCTODDARD' 


^iSi 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

LIBRARY 


THE  WILMER  COLLECTION 

OF  CIVIL  WAR  NOVELS 

PRESENTED  BY 

RICHARD  H.  WILMER,  JR. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2010  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://www.archive.org/details/battleofnewyorksOOstod 


The  Battle  of  New   York. 


THE 


BATTLE   OF   NEW   YORK 


A  STORY  FOR  ALL   YOUNG  PEOPLE 


BY 

WILLIAM   O.   STODDARD 

AUTHOR    OF    CROWDED    OUT    o'    CROFIELD,    LITTLE    SMOKE, 
DAB    KINZER,    TALKING    LEAVES,    ETC. 


\r       J 


NEW    YORK 

D.     APPLETON    AND    COMPANY 

1892 


Copyright,  1892, 
By  D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY. 


Printed  at  the 
Appi,eton  Press,  U.  S.  A. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I. — The  city  in  war-time 1 

II. — A    DARK    ENIGMA 15 

III. — Give  us  a  victory 31 

IV. — The  newsboys 46 

V. — The  Confederate  spy 61 

VI. — The  meaning  of  the  flag 75 

VII. — Dodging  an  army 90 

VIII. — Reporting  to  General  Lee 103 

IX. — The  first  gun  of  the  battle 117 

X. — The  battle-field 133 

XI. — The  torn  ten-dollar  bill 148 

XII. — The  draft  rising  in  New  York 165 

XIII.— The  Battle  of  New  York     .        ...        .        .        .        .183 

XIV.— The  red  flag 201 

XV.— Fort  Redding 216 

XVI. — The  great  day  that  came 232 


603258 


LIST   OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


FACINO 
PAGE 


The  Battle  of  New  York     . 

Return  of  the  regiment 

"  No  you  ain't,  honey  ! "       . 

The  spy  on  Wall  Street 

Barry's  first  lesson  at  selling  newspapers 

Barry  tells  Mr.  Hunker  he  can  go 

The  wounded  captain  tells  Barry  of  the  flag 

General  Lee  covers  sleeping  Dave  with  the  Confederate  fl 

Kid  Vogle  hooting  into  the  ear  of  Respectability 

Dave  starts  for  New  York  with  General  Lee's  message 

Dave  delivers  General  Lee's  message  to  Mr.  \'ernon  . 

"  The  inside  door  won't  keep  "em  back  a  minute  ! "    . 


Frontispiece 


4 

13 

21 

3G 

52 

87 

112 

117 

146 

160 

222 


THE  BATTLE  OF  NEW  YORK. 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE    CITY   IN   WAR-TIME. 


Y^^j^HE  bayonets  gleamed  brightly  in  the  sun, 
as  their  steady  rows  came  up  the  avenue. 
A  strong  squad  of  blue-coated  policemen 
marched  in  advance  to  clear  the  way,  and 
«s  behind  them  marched  the  band. 
''Ur-r-r-ur-rub-a-dub-dub-boom-bomb-ur-rr-whang- 
clang !"  for  at  that  moment  the  shrilling  of  the  fifes 
and  the  roll  of  the  drums  were  lost  in  a  clash  of 
cymbals  and  in  a  storm  of  martial  music. 

That  grand  burst  of  sound  lasted  only  for  a  minute 
or  so,  and  then  a  tune  which  Barry  Eedding  knew 
seemed  to  find  wings  and  to  spread  them  and  fly  up 
above  all  other  noises,  so  that  it  could  make  itself 
heard.     It  was  very  sweet,  but  Barry  clung  to  the 


2  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YOEK. 

lamp-post  against  which  tlie  crowd  was  jamming  him 
and  said  aloud : 

"Yes.  it's  'Home,  Sweet  Home.'  I  never  heard  it 
sound  that  way  before,  though.  Guess  they're  all 
glad  enough  to  get  home." 

There  was  indeed  something  like  a  wail  in  that 
music.  Perhaps  that  was  what  he  meant.  Close 
beside  him  stood  a  ragged  woman  who  was  crying. 

"No!  he  won't  come  back,"  she  said.  "He  went 
out  with  them,  as  brave  a  man  as  ever  marched,  but 
there  isn't  any  coming  home  for  him." 

"That's  war!"  solemnly  remarked  a  well-dressed 
and  rather  large  man  who  was  bracing  himself  to 
keep  from  being  shoved  off  the  sidewalk. 

"  Mighty  little  you  know  'bout  war !  "  savagely  in- 
sinuated a  sharp-faced  little  fellow,  with  tremendous 
black  mustaches,  who  was  trying  to  squeeze  his 
head  through  the  jam  and  get  a  look  at  the  band. 

" Don't  I?"  replied  the  big  man.  "  Well,  if  I  don't, 
you  needn't  pull  that  sleeve  so.  It's  been  empty  ever 
since  Bull  Run,  but  it  hurts  yet  to  jerk  it." 

"Beg  pardon,  comrade!"  suddenly  and  very  re- 
spectfully responded  the  small  man,  looking  up  at 
him,  "I  didn't  see  your  sleeve.  All  O.  K. !  I  was 
out  two  years  and  didn't  get  hit  once." 

"You  didn't  have  half  the  chance  I  did,  though. 
Not  so  much  of  a  target." 


Ml*!) 


THE    CITY    IN    WAR-TIME.  3 

"That's  SO — for  bullets,  but  I  got  blowed  up.  Lit 
on  my  feet  in  a  swamp." 

Barry  looked  at  the  empty  sleeve  and  wondered 
how  the  owner  of  it  could  be  so  jolly  and  self-satisfied 
about  it;  but  just  then  the  woman  w^ho  was  crying 
said: 

"Hark!  what's  that?" 

"'Hail,  Columbia,'  "  replied  Barry,  but  she  was  not 
speaking  of  the  music. 

The  band  had  marched  away  on,  before  it  changed 
its  tune.  Several  carriages  had  followed  it,  and  then 
mounted  men  and  men  on  foot.  Next  there  was  led 
along  a  well-fed,  proud- looking  horse,  carrying  an 
empty  saddle,  with  a  sheathed  sword  hanging  at  its 
pommel. 

"That's  the  old  colonel's  horse.  He  was  killed  at 
Chancellorsville. " 

"There  comes  the  regiment!" 

"All  that's  left  of  them.  Not  more'n  a  hun- 
dred, and  they  went  out  pretty  near  a  thousand 
strong." 

Barry  heard  it  all.  He  heard  a  number  of  other 
remarks  about  the  army  and  about  what  the  war  was 
costing,  but  his  ears  heard  it  for  him  on  their  own 
account.  He  was  himself  busy  only  with  his  eyes,  for 
next  after  the  riderless  horse  marched  several  ranks 
of  men  in  weather-beaten  uniforms. 


4  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YOEK. 

"I'm  glad  they  got  back,"  said  Barry.  "Don't  I 
wish  'twas  father's  regiment!" 

They  marched  well,  and  there  was  a  kind  of  light 
upon  their  bronzed  and  hardy  faces.  There  was 
something  buoyant  and  swinging  in  the  way  they 
stepped  along,  and  one  of  them  carried  the  raggedest 
flag  Barry  had  ever  seen. 

"I  s'pose  those  are  bullet-holes,"  he  said.  "It  got 
torn,  too,  in  some  o'  the  battles." 

"  Wow-oo-ow-wow!  "  sounded  mournfully  just  be- 
hind him,  and  he  looked  around  to  see  a  setter  dog 
with  his  muzzled  head  lifted,  sending  out  a  long 
howl,  as  if  he  too  were  thinking  of  the  soldiers  who 
did  not  come  back. 

"What's  the  matter  with  you?"  asked  Barry. 
"None  o'  your  folks  volunteered.  My  father's  been 
out  ever  since  the  war  began." 

"Bully  for  him!"  exclaimed  the  one-armed  man. 
"But  Cham  always  howls  when  he  hears  'Hail, 
Columbia. '  " 

"Well  he  might!"  came  to  Barrj^'s  ears,  in  a  kind 
of  snarl,  from  somebody  at  his  left;  and  the  small 
black-mustached  man  seemed  to  bristle  angrily  as 
he  turned  quickly  to  answer: 

"What's  that?  What  did  that  fellow  say  against 
'Hail,  Columbia?'" 

"Hurrah!"  shouted  Barry.     "The  Seventh!" 


V 


Return  of  the  regiment. 


THE    CITY    IN    WAR-TIME.  5 

Everybody  turned  to  look,  and  there  they  came. 
The  full,  close  ranks  were  in  splendid  drill.  Their 
bayonets  flashed  in  the  sunshine.  They  seemed  to 
Barry  a  perfectly  ideal  regiment ;  and  now  their  band, 
which  had  been  silent,  except  for  a  time-keeping  drum- 
beat, broke  out  into  something  stirring  which  quickly 
changed  into  "Tramp,  Tramp,  Tramp,  the  Boys  are 
Marching." 

Barry  admired  them  exceedingly,  but  he  was  still 
thinking  of  the  man  who  carried  the  ragged  flag. 

"  Only  a  few  of  that  veteran  regiment  got  home — 
only  a  hundred  out  of  a  thousand,"  he  said  to  himself, 
as  he  let  go  of  the  lamp-post  to  march  with  the  crowd. 
"I  wish  father  wasn't  in  the  army.  What's  the  use 
o'  war?" 

Then  he  heard  somebody  saying : 

"Will  it  be  over  soon?  No,  sir;  it  won't.  The 
South'll  never  give  up.  It's  1863  now,  and  there's. 
no  telling  how  many  more  years  it'll  last." 

"No,  it  won't,"  said  the  man  who  had  spoken 
against  "Hail,  Columbia."  "Lincoln  can't  get  any 
more  volunteers,  and  they  daren't  actually  draft 
men." 

"Daren't  they?  Can't  they?"  came  excitedly  from 
some  man  near  the  curb-stone.  "  I'm  going,  for  one. 
I  shan't  wait  to  be  drafted.  It  made  me  ashamed  of 
myself  to  look  at  those  fellov/s.     I've  as  good  a  right 


6  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

to  go  and  get  killed  as  any  man  in  that  regiment  ever 
had.     I  wish  I  had  gone  before." 

Barry's  ears  did  not  seem  to  miss  anything,  nor  his 
eyes.  He  did  not  walk  fast,  for  he  was  drifting  with 
a  stream  of  people;  and  every  pair  of  feet  among 
them  was  keeping  time  with  the  music.  He  could 
march  well  enough,  for  he  was  a  tall,  slender  fellow 
—at  least  an  inch  longer  than  could  fairly  be  expected 
of  a  fourteen-year-old  boy.  He  had  grown  upward, 
however,  without  properly  widening ;  and  he  gave  the 
impression  of  being  too  narrow  for  his  length.  His 
arms  were  long  and  so  were  his  legs.  He  wore  a 
narrow-brimmed  straw  hat,  that  came  well  down  over 
his  closely-cropped  brown  head  and  was  cocked  a  little 
on  one  side.  He  was  straight  enough,  however ;  and 
there  was  nothing  slouching  or  listless  about  him. 

The  next  remark  that  he  made  was  to  himself, 
and  it  referred  directly  to  the  matter  of  his  own 
looks. 

"There's  a  great  deal  in  a  uniform,"  he  said. 
"That's  a  fact.  But  if  I  should  join  the  army  now 
my  uniform  wouldn't  fit  me  more'n  a  week.  I  won- 
der what  on  earth  makes  me  grow  so  fast.  I  look 
like  a  guy!" 

He  must  have  grown  very  well  since  first  putting 
on  the  blue  flannel  suit  he  wore,  for  he  was  reaching 
out  beyond  it  in  all  directions.     His  neck  seemed  all 


THE    CITY    IN    WAR-TIME.  7 

the  longer  because  of  his  coat  collar  coming  up  no 
higher  than  it  did ;  and  too  much  of  him  was  wrists 
and  ankles.  The  next  thing  he  did  was  to  wheel 
discontentedly  out  of  that  marching  column  on  the 
sidewalk  and  take  his  own  course  down  a  cross- 
street,  while  the  returned  volunteers  and  their  escort 
and  their  music  paraded  on  to  show  themselves  in 
other  parts  of  the  city. 

Barry's  face  grew  very  questioning  indeed  as  he 
walked  along.  Something  was  troubling  his  mind, 
and  at  last  it  broke  right  out. 

"What  is  war?"  he  asked  aloud.  "What  right 
has  government  to  do  it,  anyhow,  and  have  so  many 
men  killed?" 

He  had  not  expected  any  answer,  but  something 
like  one  was  given  him. 

A  pair  of  rapid  feet  had  been  catching  up  with  his 
own,  and  he  heard : 

"  If  there  was  not  any  goffernment  there  would  not 
be  any  war.  All  ofer  the  world  it  is  so."  It  was  the 
"  Hail,  Columbia"  man  again. 

"Hullo,  Palovski!"  exclaimed  Barry,  turning  to- 
ward him.     "Going  back  to  the  barber-shop?" 

"I  had  to  go  downtown.  The  goffernment  haf 
enrolled  me.  They  haf  enrolled  efery  man.  They 
clean  out  the  barber-shop.  Down  with  the  goffern- 
ment!" 


8  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

It  was  evident  that  whatever  else  Palovski  might 
be  he  was  not  an  American — not  a  jDatriot — and  that 
he  did  not  wish  to  be  made  a  soldier  of. 

"Going  to  be  drafted,  are  you?"  said  Barry. 
"  Somebody's  got  to  go.  If  I  were  old  enough  I  guess 
I  wouldn't  wait  to  be  drafted." 

"You  go  some  day,"  said  Palovski.  "The  goffern- 
ment  grab  you  by  and  by." 

"I  wouldn't  care,"  replied  Barry,  "if  they'd  let  me 
take  father's  place,  so  he  could  come  home  and  take 
care  of  mother." 

"I  tell  you,"  exclaimed  Palovski,  loudly,  "when 
the  people  haf  their  rights — no  more  goff  ernment !  no 
more  war!" 

He  seemed  to  have  but  one  idea  in  his  head,  although 
there  was  room  for  more.  In  fact,  it  was  a  head 
almost  too  large  for  a  man  of  his  size ;  but  he  evi- 
dently had  all  the  strength  needed  to  carry  it.  He 
was  short  and  dark  and  muscular,  but  he  somehow 
did  not  seem  at  all  well  shaped.  He  was  not  hand- 
some, for  his  mouth  was  narrow  and  thin-lipped  and 
his  sallow  features  looked  as  if  they  were  withered, 
although  he  was  apparently  quite  young,  and  his 
mustaches  were  only  a  thin  pair  of  black  lines.  He 
was  plainly  but  not  badly  dressed,  and  he  wore  a 
bright  red  ribbon  in  one  of  his  coat  button-holes. 

"Well,"  said  Barry,  "I  s'pose  soldiers  don't  get  as 


THE   CITY    IN   WAR-TIIVIE.  9 

good  wages  as  you  do.  I  wish  I  knew  how  to  earn 
something." 

"There  ought  not  to  be  any  wages,"  snarled  Pa- 
lovski.  "We  ought  to  he  all  supported  by  the  goff- 
ernment.     There  must  be  no  rich  men." 

"Well,"  responded  Barry,  who  was  very  much 
puzzled,  "they  couldn't  be  supported  if  there  weren't 
any  government." 

That  seemed  to  set  Palovski's  tongue  going.  He 
was  no  taller  than  Barry,  but  he  seemed  to  consider 
himself  a  hundred  times  as  old — older  than  anybody 
else  and  wiser.  He  spoke  English  freely  and  with 
only  a  slight  accent,  and  now,  as  they  walked  along, 
he  talked  some  of  the  queerest  stuff  Barry  had  ever 
listened  to.  He  understood  some  of  it,  or  thought  he 
did,  especially  what  Palovski  said  he  himself  and 
others  had  suffered  under  the  tyrant  governments  of 
Europe.  Then  Palovski  said  the  government  of  the 
United  States  was  just  as  bad,  levying  taxes  and  car- 
rying on  war.  It  was  a  tyranny,  and  should  be  wiped 
away.  Then  there  would  be  a  brand-new  concern, 
invented  and  put  together  by  such  men  as  Palovski. 
Under  this  there  would  be  no  war,  no  soldiers,  no 
police,  no  prisons,  no  judges,  and,  above  all,  no  rich 
men.  All  men  would  be  expected  to  work  a  little, 
but  all  would  do  so  without  wages,  for  they  would  be 
supported  by  the  government. 


10  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

It  was  evident  that  Barry  had  heard  his  queer  ac- 
quaintance talk  before,  but  never  so  freely  and  fully, 
nor  so  fiercely;  for  Palovski's  bitterest  wrath  had 
been  stirred  up  by  the  fact  that  he  was  now  in  danger 
of  being  drafted  into  the  army.  He  explained  to 
Barry  just  how  it  was — how  there  were  not  men 
enough  volunteering  to  fill  up  the  army ;  how  all  the 
men  in  the  land  fit  for  soldiers  were  hunted  out  by 
government  officers,  and  lists  of  them  made:  how, 
when  men  were  wanted,  their  names  were  taken 
from  these  lists  by  a  kind  of  lottery,  and  each  man 
drawn  in  the  lottery  would  have  to  go,  unless  he 
could  pay  three  hundred  dollars  or  find  another  man 
to  go  in  his  place.  So,  said  Palovski,  a  man  who 
had  plenty  of  cash  could  get  out,  while  the  men 
who  had  none  must  go  and  be  killed  in  a  war  they 
hated  and  for  a  tyrant  government  they  did  not  care 
to  sustain. 

"That  means  you,"  said  Barry,  thoughtfully.  "It 
doesn't  mean  father  or  me.  I  hate  the  war,  but  I'm 
going  soon's  I'm  old  enough." 

"Oh!"  said  Palovski,  "you  wait  and  get  into  camp 
and  be  drilled.     I  was  there.     You  be  flog  once " 

"I'd  kill  any  man  that  flogged  me!"  exclaimed 
Barry.  "They  don't  flog  men  in  our  army.  You 
were  in  Europe." 

That  was  true,  but  he  was  willing  to  hear,  as  they 


THE   CITY   IN   WAR-TIME.  11 

went  on  together  uptown,  all  that  Palovski  had  to 
tell  him  of  the  terrors  of  military  discipline. 

While  Barry  was  getting  that  part  of  an  answer  to 
his  question  about  war,  the  returned  veterans  and 
their  music  and  their  splendid  escort  had  marched  on 
up  the  avenue.  All  along  their  line  of  march  there 
were  crowds  of  people  to  welcome  them,  and  there 
were  flags  hung  out  of  the  houses.  It  was  a  proud 
day  for  all  that  was  left  of  that  brave  band  of  vol- 
unteers. 

So  it  seemed  to  be,  too,  for  a  great  many  of  the 
people  who  watched  them  from  the  sidewalk,  as  if 
whatever  glory  had  been  won  was  being  cut  up  like  a 
cake  and  passed  around  for  all  who  wanted  some  to 
take  a  piece. 

At  last  they  wheeled  to  cross  through  a  narrow 
street  to  reach  another  avenue.  The  escort  had  to 
fold  up  its  ranks  to  do  so,  but  the  veterans  did  not. 
It  was  a  street  of  pretty  well-built  houses,  and  it  went 
up  a  moderate  hill.  There  were  only  a  few  flags  vis- 
ible, perhaps  because  nothing  to  bring  them  out  was 
expected ;  but  at  just  about  the  middle  of  the  block 
there  was  a  very  unlooked-for  sensation.  There  was 
a  high-stoop,  brown-stone  fronted  house  that  carried 
two  flags.  One  was  a  large,  bright-looking  Stars  and 
Stripes,  that  was  swung  vigorously  from  a  parlor 
window  by  a  very  bright-eyed,  middle-aged  woman. 


12         THE  BATTLE  OF  NEW  YORK. 

"Hurrah!"  she  shouted.  "My  husband's  in  the 
Forty-second !" 

"Halt!"  exclaimed  the  officer  in  command  of  the 
veterans.  "  Now,  boys,  three  cheers  for  her  and  for 
him!  Three  cheers  for  the  boys  in  line  and  the 
women  at  home!" 

The  men  stood  still  as  one  man,  rifle  on  shoulder 
and  hat  in  hand,  swinging  to  their  enthusiastic  cheers ; 
but  at  that  moment  a  slight,  bare-headed,  girlish 
form  stepped  lightly  out  upon  the  stoop  of  the  house. 
She,  too,  carried  a  flag,  and  she  waved  it  with  all  her 
might  as  she  shouted,  in  a  clear  but  tremulous  voice : 

"Hurrah  for  the  Sunny  South!" 

The  flag  she  swung  was  not  large,  but  it  was  brill- 
iant. It  was  a  silken,  tasselled  Stars  and  Bars,  the 
banner  of  the  Confederacy.  Just  behind  her,  firm  as 
a  rock,  and  with  a  face  full  of  defiance,  stood  another 
middle-aged  woman,  darker  and  taller  than  the  first ; 
and  she  said: 

"My  husband  fell  with  Stonewall  Jackson  at  Chan- 
cellorsville !" 

There  was  yet  another  form  in  the  doorway,  and 
one  of  a  pair  of  large  and  very  black  hands  was  pull- 
ing at  the  woman's  dress,  while  the  other  reached  for 
that  of  the  girl. 

"Lor'  bress  you,  Missus  Eandolph!  You  an'  Miss 
Lily  come  into  de  house !" 


"iV^o  you  ain't,  honey!" 


THE    CITY    IN   WAR-TIME.  13 

There  were  at  once  rude  outcries  among  the  rougher 
part  of  the  people  on  the  sidewalk,  but  the  veteran 
officer  sang  out  to  his  men : 

"Boys!  she's  all  right!  We're  all  soldiers.  Three 
cheers  for  the  plucky  little  reb  that  stood  by  her 
father's  flag!     One,  two — now!" 

The  brave  fellows  cheered  with  a  will  and  a  tiger-r 
and  the  girl  waved  her  flag ;  but  her  mother  turned 
to  go  into  the  house,  crying  and  saying : 

"God  bless  real  soldiers,  anyhow!" 

"Come  into  de  house.  Miss  Lily!" 

"No,  I  won't,  Diana.     Not  till  they're  all  gone  by." 

"Yes,  you  will,  Miss  Lily.  That  there  crowd  isn't 
all  sojers.  Dey's  loafers  in  it.  Dey  might  grab  de 
flag.     Come  in!" 

"I  swung  it,  anyhow!"  she  said,  as  she  reluctantly 
yielded  to  Diana's  urgency  and  her  pulling. 

Large  and  strongly-made  was  Diana  Lee,  and  at 
the  next  instant  she  stepped  quickly  out  past  Lilian 
Eandolph  and  asked  of  a  fellow  who  was  already  half- 
way up  the  steps : 

"Wot  you  want  heah?" 

"I  want  that  Confed  flag!  I'm  a-going  to  have 
it,  too." 

"No,  you  ain't,  honey!"  replied  the  mellow,  mocking 
voice  of  Diana.  "  You  kin  go  right  down  de  steps,  or 
I'll  help  ye.     You  ain't  any  kine  of  sojer.     You's  one 


14  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

of  dem  fellers  'at  couldn't  be  hired  to  go.  Hope  de 
draf  '11  git  ye!" 

"Bring  me  that  flag!" 

"No,  ye  don't,  honey!"  said  Diana,  as  she  squared 
herself  before  him  and  held  a  dangerous-looking  black 
fist  very  near  his  nose.  "You  go  an'  f oiler  de  Stars 
an'  Stripes  aw'ile,  an'  I'll  talk  wid  ye.  Go  an'  fight 
somethin'  more'n  a  little  Virginny  gal.  Fight  some 
o'  the  Virginny  men!" 

"That's  the  talk!"  came  loudly  up  from  the  side- 
walk. "  Give  it  to  him,  aunty !  Let  him  do  his  flag- 
snatching  in  a  blue  uniform." 

"  Come  in,  Lilian !"  It  was  Mrs.  EandoljDh's  voice, 
still  intensely  excited  and  defiant,  but  it  was  Diana 
who  shoved  them  both  before  her  and  closed  the  door, 
throwing  back  at  the  fellow  on  the  steps  a  bitterly 
sarcastic : 

"Loafer,  go  an'  be  a  sojer!" 


CHAPTER  II. 

A    DARK    ENIGMA. 

'ES.  REDDING  did  not  close  her  window  after 
the  soldiers  and  the  crowd  went  by.  She 
only  drew  in  her  flag  and  stood  it  up  in  a 
corner,  where  it  seemed  to  rest  and  look  at 
her.  She  had  not  yet  taken  her  eyes  from  it, 
and  there  was  a  bright  flush  on  her  face.  It 
almost  seemed  as  if  she  and  the  flag  were  talking, 
while  a  heavy  step  came  in  at  the  outer  door  and 
through  the  hall  into  the  parlor. 

"Mrs.  Redding,"  rasped  a  harsh,  menacing  voice, 
"I  don't  care  to  have  any  extreme  p'litical  demon- 
strations in  any  haouse  that  b'longs  to  me!" 

"Mr.  Hunker!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Redding,  in  aston- 
ishment. "Why,  what  do  you  mean?  This  house  is 
mine  so  long  as  I  pay  for  it.  Mrs.  Randolph  is  a 
Southern  woman,  sir.  She  is  a  soldier's  widow.  She 
can  wave  her  flag  if  she  wishes." 

The  flush  on  her  face  had  grown  deeper,  and  Lilian 
was  thinking: 

"How  handsome  she  is!" 

15 


16  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW   YORK. 

"That  isn't  what  I  mean,"  repHed  Mr.  Hunker. 
"I'm  agin  the  Linkin  government  myself.  Jest  don't 
you  swing  out  no  more  cussed  Union  flags!" 

"I'll  do  as  I  please,  and  I  don't  care  to  hear  that 
kind  of  talk." 

"  No,  ye  won't !  not  in  any  haouse  of  mine.  I  know 
haow  you're  doin'  in  your  boardin' -haouse  business. 
You  can't  pay  your  rent,  and  you've  got  to,  or  break 
the  lease.  I  won't  let  up  on  ye.  It's  only  half  what 
I  can  git  naow.     I've  another  tenant  ready." 

"He  won't  get  it,  then,"  responded  Mrs.  Eedding, 
with  energy;  "and  you  can  leave  this  house." 

"I  want  to  see  that  lady  from  the  Saouth,"  said 
Mr.  Hunker.  "I'm  landlord  here.  The  Saouth  has 
its  friends  in  New  Yoark." 

Mrs.  Randolph  and  Lilian  had  retreated  into  the 
back  parlor  already,  and  now  a  voice  came  that 
sounded  as  if  two  had  begun  to  speak  and  one  had 
finished  it : 

"We  don't  want  to  see  him,  Mrs.  Eedding." 

"Leave  the  house,  Mr.  Hunker,"  repeated  Mrs. 
Redding.  "You'll  get  your  rent  when  the  time 
comes." 

"I  don't  knaow  'bout  that,  but  don't  ye  swing  no 
more  flags!" 

Just  then  some  man  at  the  door  shouted: 

"Come  along,  Hunker!     I  can't  wait." 


A   DARK   ENIGMA.  17 

"I'm  coming,-'  replied  the  well-dressed  but  very 
coarse-looking,  unpleasant-voiced  friend  of  the  South, 
turning  to  go;  and  he  added  to  Mrs.  Eedding,  "Mind, 
naow,  you'll  pay  or  quit!" 

Hardly  was  he  out  before  there  stood  Mrs.  Eandolph 
with  tears  in  her  eyes. 

"You  have  been  so  good  and  kind,  but  I'm  getting 
desperate.  I  can't  run  in  debt  to  you  any  more.  My 
money's  all  gone,  and  I  don't  know  when  any  more 
will  come.  They  watch  so  closel}^  Nobody  can  get 
through  the  lines.  You  can't  keep  boarders  for  noth- 
ing.    It's  two  months " 

"How  I  wish  we  were  back  in  old  Virginia!" 
mourned  Lilian. 

"I've  thought  of  all  that,"  said  Mrs.  Eedding,  and 
neither  of  them  noticed  that  she  had  picked  up  the 
flag  and  was  smoothing  it  affectionately,  with  a  far- 
away look  on  her  face. 

"You  and  Lilian  can  go  right  along  till  your  help 
comes.  We'll  manage  it  somehow.  I've  part  of  the 
rent  ready." 

"But  how  can  we  stay?"  said  Mrs.  Eandolph. 

"You've  nowhere  else  to  go,"  replied  her  landlady. 
"  I  have  to  be  out  of  doors  a  good  deal.  You  and  she 
can  help  me  care  for  the  house  and  see  that  I'm  not 
robbed." 

"  There's  a  great  deal  of  waste,"  said  Mrs.  Eandolph, 


18  THE    BATTLE    OF   NEW   YORK. 

thoughtfully.  "There  always  is  in  a  boarding-house, 
I  suppose." 

"That's  my  trouble,"  replied  Mrs.  Redding,  "and 
everything  costs  so  in  paper  money.  It  takes  twice 
as  much  to  live  as  it  used  to.  Barry  must  find  some- 
thing to  do,  or  I  can't  make  both  ends  meet.  A  dol- 
lar's less  than  half  a  dollar  nowadays." 

"It's  worse  than  that  down  South,"  said  Lilian. 
"Oh,  dear!  when  will  this  war  be  over?" 

"  We  won't  worry.  It's  got  to  end  some  time.  My 
part  of  it's  right  here,"  said  Mrs.  Redding. 

Mr.  Palovski,  walking  with  Barry,  at  that  moment 
flourished  his  hand  and  remarked,  dramatically: 

"  The  war  and  the  goffernment  are  breaking  down ! 
This  draft  is  the  end  of  both  of  them.  It  is  a  tax  for 
men !  For  so  much  blood !  It  is  tyranny,  my  poy ! 
It  will  not  be  collected.  You  will  see.  We  will  not 
be  drafted." 

His  dark  face  grew  fiercer  and  more  scowling.  His 
eyes  seemed  to  flash  fire.  He  even  looked  like  a 
larger  man. 

Barry  did  not  yet  quite  understand  the  draft  and 
how  it  was  to  be  done,  but  he  could  understand  that 
a  barber  earning  good  wages,  not  much  of  an  Ameri- 
can anyhow,  might  be  ready  to  run  away  if  the 
government  were  reaching  out  to  make  a  soldier  of 
him. 


A   DARK   ENIGMA.  19 

"Here's  your  shop,"  was  all  the  reply  he  made, 
however,  and  Palovski  strutted  into  it,  leaving  him 
upon  the  sidewalk. 

"They'll  have  to  go  if  they're  wanted,"  Barry  said 
to  himself.  "But  what's  mother  going  to  do  for 
money?  She'll  lose  the  house  if  she  can't  pay  her 
rent.  I  must  do  something.  But  I'm  glad  father's 
in  the  war." 

Just  then  a  very  loud,  shrill  voice  shouted  into  his 
right  ear : 

"A-axtry!  'Erld!  Great  battle  on  the  P'to- 
mick !" 

Barry  whirled  around  like  a  top,  but  no  paper  was 
held  out  to  him ;  neither  was  there  much  of  anything 
else,  except  a  wonder  that  so  much  voice  should 
come  from  so  small  and  slim  a  boy.  He  must  have 
been  made  up  mainly  of  throat  and  lungs.  Well,  he 
did  have  a  very  wide  mouth.  He  was  built,  perhaps, 
all  over  with  reference  to  his  mouth,  and  he  was 
therefore  just  the  kind  of  fellow  to  sell  newspapers. 

"Is  that  you.  Kid?"  said  Barry.  "Where  are  all 
your  papers?" 

"Sold  'em  all,"  replied  the  newsboy,  cheerfully. 
"  Made  seventy-five  cents  since  breakfast.  Goin'  home 
to  dinner." 

"That's  just  what  I'll  do,"  exclaimed  Barry;  but 
he  was  not  thinking  of  dinner,  for  he  added : 


20  THE    BATTLE    OF   NEW    YORK. 

"I've  got  to  do  something  to  help  mother.  I'll 
pitch  in  and  sell  papers." 

"Well,"  said  Kid,  a  little  doubtfully,  "I  dunno. 
Mebbe  you  can  do  it.  Get  her  to  give  you  a  dollar  to 
start  on.     Some  fellers  just  can't,  though." 

"Why,"  said  Barry,  "I  should  think  any  fellow 
could  sell  newspapers.     It's  easy  enough." 

"Now  is  it?"  said  Kid,  with  energy.  "You  try  it 
on  and  see  'f  it  is.  No  kind  of  whiner'll  make  a  good 
newsboy." 

"I'm  no  kind  of  whiner,"  replied  Barry,  with  some 
indignation. 

"I  know  you  ain't,"  said  Kid,  looking  up  at  him 
in  a  fatherly  way.  "You  might  do.  Tell  you  what, 
though !  if  I  can  get  at  a  man  so  I  can  hoot  into  his 
ear  I  can  sell  him  every  time — startle  him  out  o'  five 
cents.  You  can  screech  good.  When  you  set  out, 
though,  take  a  'sortment." 

"What's  that?"  asked  Barry. 

"Why,"  explained  Kid,  "it's  the  same  thing, 
mornin'  or  evenin'.  Some  fellers  don't  care  what 
they  buy,  if  it's  news;  but  mostly  a  Tribune  feller 
won't  take  a  World  or  a  Her- Id,  and  some  on  'em '11 
turn  away  from  you  if  you  haven't  the  Times  or  the 
Sun.  It's  just  so  in  the  afternoon.  A  feller  that 
wants  the  Post  or  the  Commershil  '  JVse?''ll  give  you 
a  lickin'  if  you  try  the  Express  on  him.     Anyhow, 


The  spy  on  Wall  Street. 


A    DARK    ENIGMA.  21 

soon's  your  first  lot's  out,  don't  you  yell  anything  but 
extrys,  no  matter  what  you've  got.  Everybody  wants 
battles,  and  so  they  all  want  extrys." 

"That's  so,"  nodded  Barry. 

"Tell  you  what,"  said  Kid,  "I  can  tell  a  feller's 
politics  soon's  I  see  him,  but  'twon't  do  to  make  a 
mistake.  You  bet  it  won't!  If  his  side's  winnins:, 
though,  he  may  give  you  a  quarter." 

They  had  talked  until  they  were  in  front  of  Mrs. 
Bedding's,  and  they  separated  there;  but  not  until 
Barry  had  agreed  to  go  downtown  with  Kid  Vogel 
right  away  after  dinner. 

All  the  while  that  Barry  had  been  walking  and 
talking  a  very  different  kind  of  boy  had  been  walking 
in  another  part  of  the  city.  It  was  not  a  very  wide 
street.  There  w^as  a  stone  church,  with  a  tall  spire 
and  a  clock,  at  one  end  of  it ;  and  the  other  end  ran 
into  the  water,  or  rather  it  was  covered  over  with  a 
ferry-house. 

The  buildings  were  of  brick  or  stone,  and  some  of 
them  were  handsome.  All  along  where  the  boy  was 
walking  the  signs  on  either  side  said  "  Bank, "  "  Bank, " 
"Banker,"  "Broker,"  or  something  of  that  sort;  and 
the  boy  seemed  to  be  studying  them. 

It  was  not  easy  to  guess  what  business  so  black  and 
so  ragged  a  boy  could  have  to  do  in  Wall  Street,  or 
with  bankers  or  brokers ;  but  nobody  asked  him  any 


23  THE   BATTLE   OF    NEW   YORK. 

questions.  He  went  along  looking  up  at  the  signs, 
and  his  face  wore  a  wearied,  anxious  expression.  It 
brightened  suddenly  as  he  exclaimed : 

"Washington  Vernon  &  Co.,  Bankers.  I'll  go 
right  in." 

Up  the  stone  steps  he  went,  and  in  another  moment 
he  was  inside  of  the  door  of  an  elegant  business  office, 
asking : 

"Please,  sah,  is  Mars'  Vernon  in?" 

"  Get  out,  you  black  imp !"  replied  a  surprised  growl 
from  behind  a  counter.     "What  do  you  want  here?" 

There  was  no  question  but  that  he  looked  remarka- 
bly out  of  place,  but  he  persisted : 

"Yes,  sah,  if  you  please,  I  want  to  see  Mars'  Wash- 
ington Vernon." 

He  spoke  respectfully,  but  in  so  clear  and  loud  a 
voice  that  he  was  heard  through  an  open  door  by 
somebody  in  a  room  behind  that  office.  It  was  a  kind 
ot  financial  business  parlor,  apparently.  A  tall,  old- 
looking  man  arose  quickly  from  his  chair  at  a  desk 
and  shouted : 

"  Simpson !  show  him  in !" 

"Humph!"  exclaimed  Simpson.  "This  isn't  any 
place  for  niggers.  They  ought  to  be  all  killed,  any- 
how. What  does  old  Vernon  want  of  a  scarecrow 
like  that?"  The  growl  he  began  in  had  been  half- 
suppressed,  but  it  grew  louder  as  he  added :  "  Go  right 


A   DARK   ENIGMA.  23 

in,  Charcoal!  Mr.  Vernon  is  in  there.  Two  more 
like  you'd  make  the  room  so  dark  I'd  have  to  light 
the  gas." 

He  was  a  burly,  middle-aged  man,  with  a  red  neck- 
tie and  a  diamond  pin;  and  no  doubt  he  was  born 
with  a  right  to  be  brutal  to  poor  black  boys. 

The  boy  he  had  now  been  brutal  to  did  not  reply  to 
him,  but  walked  on  into  the  other  room.  The  tall 
old  man  stood  by  his  desk,  with  a  look  of  sharp, 
watchful  interest  upon  his  face. 

"Is  you  Mars'  Vernon?"  asked  the  boy. 

"My  name  is  Washington  Vernon.  What  is  your 
name?" 

"Oh!"  said  the  boy,  speaking  low,  "I's  no  name  at 
all.     I's  on'y  got  lef." 

"Eight!"  said  Mr.  Vernon.  "Now  let  me  see  if 
you  have.     Hand  it  to  me!" 

How  he  did  watch  that  boy!  He,  too,  looked  in 
the  banker's  face  as  he  went  to  the  desk  and  put  down 
his  left  hand,  palm  up,  with  its  fingers  spread  out  in 
a  pecuHar  way,  and  said,  "Stone." 

Mr.  Vernon  at  once  put  down  his  own  left  hand, 
across  the  small  black  hand,  in  the  same  fashion, 
and  said,  "Wall." 

The  boy  followed  with  his  right  hand,  and  said, 
"Jack;"  and  the  banker's  right  hand  followed  as 
he  added,  "Son." 


24  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YOEK. 

"Shenandoah,"  said  the  boy. 

"That'll  do!"  exclahned  Mr.  Vernon;  "but  the 
next  word  will  be  Susquehanna.  It  won't  be  long, 
either." 

"No,  sah,"  said  the  boy  quickly,  while  the  banker 
stepped  to  the  door  and  shut  and  bolted  it;  "but  it's 
de  Hudson,  sah,  an'  de  lakes.     Dey's  a-comin' !" 

He  was  rapidly  pulling  off  his  coat  as  he  spoke.  It 
was  rusty  and  ragged,  but  it  had  a  lining;  and  there 
was  a  slit  in  this  at  the  collar,  and  out  of  that  slit  the 
boy  drew  a  long,  thin  packet  covered  with  india-rubber 
cloth.     He  handed  it  to  Mr.  Vernon,  saying : 

"I  tole  de  gin'ral  I's  gwine  to  give  ye  that.  You's 
jis  one  ob  ouah  folks.  Now  I's  got  anoder  erran'  to 
do  uptown.     Eeckon  I'd  bes'  be  gwine." 

"Come  here  to-morrow,  anyhow,"  said  the  banker, 
commandingly.  "I'll  know  what  to  do  by  that 
time." 

"All  right.  Mars'  Vernon!  Eeckon  ye  will.  I'll 
come,"  said  the  boy. 

"There's  ten  dollars,"  began  the  banker.  "That's 
for  current  expenses.     I'll  let  you  have  more." 

"No,  you  won't.  Mars'  Vernon,"  replied  the  boy, 
not  holding  out  any  hand  for  the  money.  "  I's  got 
enough.  I's  gwine  to  come  an'  see  you  agin  to- 
morrow.    I's  a  gen'lman,  I  is." 

Mr.  Vernon  was  an  astonished  man,  but  only  his 


A    DARK    ENIGMA.  25 

face  said  so.  It  was  indeed  a  wonder — a  black  boy  of 
that  size  and  rig  absolutely  refusing  to  take  a  ten- 
dollar  bill !     But  all  he  said  was : 

"Go  ahead,  then,  but  don't  fail  to  come.  I  shall 
be  here  all  day." 

"I's  a-comin',  suah,"  said  the  queer  youngster; 
and  he  seemed  to  be  even  in  haste  as  he  went  out  into 
the  street. 

"I  am  glad  that  is  done,"  he  remarked  to  himself 
on  the  sidewalk.  "If  I'm  caught  now,  they  can't 
fairly  shoot  me.  Not  for  anything  they'd  find  on 
me.  They  might  shoot  old  Vernon,  though,  or  hang 
him." 

However  that  might  be,  the  banker  was  now  sitting 
at  his  desk,  and  was  reading  with  seemingly  intense 
interest  one  of  several  written  papers  which  he  had 
taken  out  of  the  black  boy's  packet.  Mr.  Simpson, 
meantime,  was  busy  with  other  men  in  the  outer  office. 

Up  at  Mrs.  Eedding's  the  noonday  meal,  or  "lunch," 
was  not  so  important  as  that  which  was  eaten  at  six 
o'clock,  when  the  masculine  boarders  came  home  from 
business.  This  latter  was  apt  to  last  a  long  time,  for 
some  of  them  were  sure  to  come  late ;  and  that  was 
one  more  reason  why  Mrs.  Eedding  was  glad  to  have 
help  from  Mrs.  Eandolph.  One  woman,  she  said, 
was  not  enough  to  run  so  large  a  household. 

"Lilian,"  said  her  mother  at  noon,  just  before  they 


26  THE   BATTLE   OF   NEW    YORK. 

went  downstairs,  "I  don't  care  if  Mrs.  Redding  is 
a  Yankee;  she  is  a  noble,  generous-hearted  woman." 

"So  she  is,  mother,"  said  Lilian,  with  emphasis. 
"She's  in  trouble,  too.  I'm  glad  I  swung  that  flag, 
anyhow!     Soldiers  are  splendid!" 

"So  am  I,"  said  Mrs.  Randolph.  "Come!  That 
boy  Barry  ought  to  be  doing  something.  He's  old 
enough." 

"I'm  glad  he  isn't  old  enough  to  be  a  soldier,"  said 
Lilian.  "I'm  glad  the  North  can't  get  any  more 
men.     There's  more  chance  for  the  South." 

There  was  evidently  a  great  deal  of  war  spirit  in 
that  house,  but  they  all  thought  better  of  Barry  be- 
fore luncheon  was  over.  He  talked  about  the  veterans 
and  about  the  flag-swinging,  and  he  even  mentioned 
Mr.  Palovski  and  the  draft ;  but  he  had  ten  times  as 
much  to  say  concerning  Kid  Vogel  and  the  fortunes 
that  were  to  be  made  by  newsboys.  His  mother  heard 
him  in  a  kind  of  thoughtful  silence,  until  Lilian 
remarked : 

"Why,  do  newsboys  really  make  money?  I  mean, 
anything  much?     Such  a  lot  of  little,  ragged " 

"Some  of  them  do,"  interrupted  Barry.  "Smart 
fellows,  like  Kid." 

"Barry!"  sharply  exclaimed  Mrs.  Redding.  "Go 
ahead!  It  can't  be  helped.  You  can  earn  your  own 
clothes,  anyhow." 


A   DARK   ENIGMA.  37 

"I  believe  I  can,"  said  Barry  cheerfully;  "and  I 
mean  to  get  a  suit  that's  three  sizes  too  large  and 
just  grow  into  it." 

"Ha!  ha!"  laughed  Lilian.  "I  would,  if  I  were 
you." 

That  was  nearly  the  end  of  the  talk.  He  ate  the 
rest  of  his  lunch  in  a  hurry,  and  then  he  darted  out 
of  the  house,  with  a  dollar  in  his  pocket,  saying  to 
himself : 

"Palovski  says  there  oughtn't  to  be  any  capital, 
but  if  mother  hadn't  some  how'd  I  get  set  up  in  the 
news  business?" 

So  far  his  new  idea  seemed  to  be  getting  along  very 
well ;  but  it  was  not  so  with  the  ideas  and  purposes  of 
all  other  people. 

If  any  boy,  for  instance,  who  has  never  before  been 
in  a  great  city  sets  out  all  alone  to  find  one  particular 
house  in  it,  he  may  have  his  difficulties  cut  out  for 
him.  It  does  not  help  him  at  all,  moreover,  if  he  is 
poor  and  black  and  shabby-looking.  The  black  boy 
who  had  called  at  Vernon  &  Co.  's  walked  away  from 
the  banking  office  briskly. 

"Mr.  Simpson  called  me  Charcoal,"  he  remarked. 
"  Well,  one  name's  as  good  as  another.  I  can  find 
that  place.  I  know  I  can;  but  it's  away  uptown.  I 
guess  I  won't  walk — I'll  ride." 

He  was  already  going  up  Broadway,  and  nobody 


28  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

paid  him  any  attention  so  long  as  he  walked  steadily 
along  with  the  kind  of  everlasting  procession  that 
walks  there  during  business  hours.  Opposite  the  City 
Hall,  however,  he  stood  still,  considering  with  himself : 

"I  wish  I  knew  which  street-car  to  take." 

At  that  instant  he  was  whirled  around  by  a  shock 
that  staggered  him,  and  heard : 

"Get  out  o'  the  way.  Nig!  I  want  to  catch  that 
car." 

Another  shock  seemed  to  catch  him,  and  he  was 
propelled  against  a  lamp-post  with  some  vigor  by  a 
big  man  who  said : 

"Mind  whom  you  run  against.  Sooty!     Take  that." 

The  black  boy  glanced  this  way  and  that,  in  breath- 
less indignation. 

"  I  daren't  say  a  word !"  he  exclaimed.  "Euffians! 
Brutes!  Dressed  like  gentlemen,  too!  Can't  they 
tell? — no,  they  can't!  I'll  just  hurry  and  take  any 
uptown  car." 

He  walked  fast  across  the  open  si)ace,  and  tried 
hard  to  do  as  he  had  said.  He  saw  car  after  car 
pause  to  take  in  passengers  who  motioned  to  the 
drivers  to  stop,  and  he  himself  not  only  motioned  but 
shouted ;  and  it  was  as  if  he  had  hurried  them  along. 

"Why  won't  they  stop?"  he  exclaimed.  "Now  I'll 
get  into  this  one.     'Tisn't  full." 

It  was  not,  and  he  succeeded  in  boarding  it  and  in 


A    DARK    ENIGMA.  29 

being  carried  along  for  some  distance.  The  conductor 
was  collecting  fares  forward,  however;  and  just  as 
he  reached  the  place  where  Charcoal — if  that  was  to 
be  his  name — held  out  a  five-cent  slip  of  paper  cur- 
rency, a  man  exclaimed  loudly : 

"Put  him  out,  conductor!" 

And  another  added : 

"We  don't  want  any  cause-o' -the- war  in  this  car. 
Out  with  him !     He's  a  blackbird." 

"Get  right  out!"  said  the  conductor,  putting  a 
hand  on  Charcoal's  collar. 

"No,  I  won't!  I've  as  good  a  right — I'm  a  gen- 
tleman  " 

There  the  black  boy  suddenly  stopped,  and  seemed 
in  double  haste  to  escape  from  that  car  and  from  the 
storm  of  derisive  utterances  which  replied  to  him. 

The  car  did  not  entirely  stop  to  let  him  off,  and  his 
jump  from  it  sent  him  too  far.  It  sent  him  against 
two  neatly-dressed  young  fellows  who  were  crossing 
the  street ;  and  one  of  them  sent  him  on  into  a  heap 
of  dusty  street-sweepings.  He  arose  from  it  looking 
worse  than  ever,  just  as  a  woman  on  the  sidewalk 
exclaimed : 

"Do  look  at  that  contraband!  Why,  he's  a  scare- 
crow !  That  fellow  ought  to  have  been  ashamed  of 
himself  to  have  kicked  him,  though." 

Through   all  his   blackness  it   could  be  seen  that 


30  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Charcoal  was  furiously  angry.  He  seemed  to  swell 
with  wrath  as  he  shook  his  fist  after  those  two  trim- 
looking  youths,  but  he  was  silent,  except  that  he  half - 
whispered : 

"I  must  bear  it!  Kicked!  cuffed!  blackguarded! 
Well,  I  knew  this  trip  would  cost  me  something. 
Hurrah  for  General  Lee!     He's  coming!" 


CHAPTER   III. 


GIVE    US    A   VICTORY. 


HE   barber- shop  in  which  Mr.  Palovski  was 
employed  was  two  squares  away  from  Mrs. 
Bedding's.     He  was  in  it  after  dinner,  but 
he  was  not  shaving  anybody.     It  was  not 
the  time  of  day  for  a  rush  of  customers,  and 
he  was  busied  only  with  a  lot  of  razors,  a  hone, 
and  a  strop. 

If  the  razors  needed  sharpening,  he  did  not;  but 
it  seemed  to  do  him  inward  good  to  bring  each  of 
them  in  turn  to  the  finest  kind  of  edge.  It  was  not 
altogether  because  they  would  then  do  easier  work 
upon  men's  faces,  for  at  last  he  said  to  another  bar- 
ber who  was  standing  near  him  folding  towels : 

"  There !  that  would  cut  the  throat  of  the  goffern- 
ment,  if  I  had  it  in  the  right  place." 

Barry  had  a  private  interview  with  his  mother, 
and  went  downtown  in  a  street-car.  He  hardly 
saw  or  heard  anything  in  the  car,  for  all  his  thoughts 
had  gone  away  ahead  of  him,  and  he  did  not  catch 

up  with  them  until  he  reached  City  Hall  Square  and 

31 


32  THE   BATTLE    OF   NEW   YORK. 

looked  up  at  the  signs  of  the  newspapers  which  dotted 
the  fronts  of  almost  all  the  buildings  of  Park  Row. 

"That's  why  they  call  it  Newspaper  Eow,"  he  said. 
"There's  just  lots  of  them.  Glad  they're  not  all 
dailies,  though." 

He  was  out  of  the  car  when  he  said  it,  and  there 
was  Kid  waiting  for  him. 

"Hullo,  Barry!"  said  Kid,  in  a  moderate  tone  of 
voice — for  him.  "There  won't  be  any  papers  to-day, 
of  any  'count,  till  three  o'clock.  Not  'nless  there's  a 
two-o'clock  extry." 

"Will  there  be  one?"  asked  Barry,  fingering  his 
dollar  bill.     "I  want  to  begin." 

"  Dunno, "  said  Kid,  thoughtfully.  "  But  it's  a  good 
day  for  us.  There's  a  big  battle  gittin'  ready  for  us, 
but  you  can't  say  just  when  it'll  git  here.  All  the 
millish  are  goin'  out  to  fight  in  it.  Seventh,  Twelfth, 
Ninth — oh,  all  of  'em!  There  won't  be  any  sojers 
left  in  the  city.  They're  goin'  all  day  to-day  an'  to- 
night. Most  of  'em  are  gone.  Oh,  but  won't  there 
be  extrys  to  sell  while  they're  a-fightin' !" 

"Loads!"  exclaimed  Barry,  but  Kid  added: 

"Besides,  old  Grant,  he's  gittin'  himself  awfully 
licked  at  Vicksburg.  He's  got  to  let  go  of  the  reb 
army  there." 

"  No,  he  hasn't, "  interrupted  Barry,  sharply,  "  I've 
read  about  that.     He's  going  to  fight  them  till  they 


GIVE    US    A   VICTORY.  33 

give  in.  There's  a  Southern  girl,  though,  up  at  our 
house — she  and  her  mother  say  General  Lee's  coming 
right  on  to  take  New  York.  He's  going  to  take  Bal- 
timore and  Philadelphia  first,  and  then  he's  coming 
right  on  here — unless  he  gets  himself  whipped  so  bad 
he  can't." 

Kid  seemed  just  then  to  be  squirming  a  little  over 
an  idea  which  had  come  to  him. 

"Well,  I  hope  he  won't,"  he  said.  "First  thing 
he'd  do  after  he  got  here  he'd  shut  up  all  the  news- 
papers. They're  all  against  him  nowadays,  worse'n 
they  are  against  old  Grant  for  gittin'  used  up  at 
Vicksburg.  I  guess  he'd  let  some  of  'em  go  on  print- 
in',  though,  so's  he  could  git  papers  for  himself,  if 
they'd  on'y  come  out  Confed  instead  of  Union." 

It  was  pretty  plain  that  Kid  had  no  narrow  preju- 
dices either  way,  and  that  he  would  be  contented 
with  any  result  of  the  war  which  did  not  interfere 
with  the  sale  of  newspapers.  It  was  only  a  minute, 
however,  before  he  broke  out  with : 

"Come  on,  Barry!  You've  got  to  get  posted  'bout 
things  on  Wall  Street." 

"I've  been  there,"  said  Barry.  "I  know  all  about 
it." 

"  Come  on, "  said  Kid.     "  I'll  show  you  suthin'. " 

Off  they  went,  and  Barry  shortly  found  that  Kid 
knew  what  he  went  for.     The  first  thing  he  pointed 


34  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW   YORK. 

out  after  they  got  there  was  the  Stock  Exchange,  with 
a  crowd  of  men  in  front  of  it. 

"See  'em!"  said  Kid.  "When  there's  news,  and 
when  gold  is  teetering  up  and  down,  and  when  stocks 
are  bobbing  every  which  way,  then's  your  time  to  sell 
papers!  Hoot  'axtry'  at  'em,  and  they'd  buy  an  old 
sheet  o'  wrappin'  paper.  But  lots  o'  fellers  pitch 
right  down  here  soon's  any  paper's  out.  You've  got 
to  race  it  to  get  here  first.     Now,  come  on!" 

On  they  went,  and  Kid  seemed  to  feel  like  lectur- 
ing; but  right  in  the  middle  of  something  he  was 
saying  about  "extrys"  he  halted. 

"Look  there!"  he  said.  "But  if  Lee's  army  got 
here  they'd  gobble  it  all." 

The  place  they  paused  before  was  a  money  "ex- 
change office,"  with  a  large  show-window. 

"See?"  said  Kid.  "All  sorts.  It's  where  they 
take  in  immigrants,  too.  Give  'em  greenbacks  and 
fracksh'n'l  currency  for  all  their  gold  and  silver. 
See  the  gold  piled  up?" 

"Yes,"  said  Barr}^,  staring  at  the  gold.  "But 
our  money's  as  good  as  theirs  is.     It  passes  here." 

"'Course  it  does, " replied  Kid,  "but  it  takes  two  'n 
a  half  of  our  dollars,  and  more  too,  to  make  a  gold  or 
silver  dollar.  Look  at  them  white  bills.  Thafs 
reg'lar  English.  Bank  of  England,  I  know.  Them 
others  are  German  and  all  sorts." 


GIVE   US   A   VICTORY.  35 

No  doubt  the  paper  was  money,  but  the  gold  and 
silver  corns  were  what  took  Barry's  eye ;  and  it  seemed 
to  him  as  if  he  could  hardly  remember  ever  havino- 
touched  one. 

"Fives,  tens,  twenties,"  he  said.  "Tell  you  what. 
Kid!  all  that  gold  is  just  beautiful.  Look  at  the 
silver,  too.  It  can't  come  out  till  the  war's  over, 
though." 

"Come  on!"  suddenly  exclaimed  Kid.  "There's 
somethin'  goin'  on!" 

They  went  back  and  looked  for  a  moment.  The 
crowd  of  men  on  the  sidewalk  in  front  of  the  Stock 
Exchange  were  shouting  and  gesticulating  almost 
frantically. 

"There's  news  o'  some  kind,"  said  Kid,  "or  they 
wouldn't  be  cuttin'  up  like  that.  Tell  you  what. 
Shiner  Murphy's  goin'  to  buy  the  Express  for  him 
and  me.  I'll  go  for  the  Post.  You  go  for  the  C'mer- 
shiPd  '  Vertiser.  We'll  get  the  first  lots  and  divide 
'round,  so  we  can  spot  any  kind  of  feller.  Shiner'U 
get  in  'mong  the  first.     He's  a  kind  of  eel." 

He  might  be,  and  Barry  determined  to  be  another; 
but  there  were  jams  of  boys  in  front  of  all  the  evening 
newspaper  offices.  There  were  men  waiting  behind 
the  counters  and  there  was  a  kind  of  system  for  get- 
ting the  papers  distributed  rapidly. 

Almost  at  the  same  moment,  down  from  the  upper 


36  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

story  of  each  of  those  tall  buildings,  came  great 
batches  of  freshly-printed  papers.  There  were  tussles, 
twists,  scrambles,  and  then  the  boys  had  the  papers ; 
and  every  boy  began  to  yell  his  loudest  the  moment 
he  squirmed  out  of  the  jam. 

There  were  three  who  almost  ran  against  each  other 
on  a  street-corner. 

"Trade  quick,  boys, "said  Shiner  Murphy,  excitedly. 
"I've  sold  five  a'ready.     They'll  go  like  hot  cakes!" 

"Wall  Street!"  exclaimed  Kid,  as  he  and  Barry 
arranged  their  assortments ;  and  it  did  seem  to  Barry 
as  if  he  had  never  before  in  his  life  been  so  excited  as 
he  was  when  he  dashed  away,  shouting : 

"Here's  your  Evening  Post,  Express,  ^Vertiser! 
Great  battle  on  the  Potomac !  News  from  Vicksburg, 
Grant,  Lee's  army,  city  o'  Washington!  Axtry! — 
yes,  sir,  five  cents — all  right !" 

"  Go  it,  Barry !"  shouted  Kid.  "  You'll  do.  Won't 
you  be  hoarse  to-morrer,  though!" 

"Oh,  but  can't  you  hoot!"  said  Barry. 

The  energy  and  foresight  and  enterprise  of  Kid 
were  indeed  about  to  be  rewarded.  He  and  Barry 
and  the  Shiner  were  the  first  detachment  of  news- 
boys to  reach  Broad  Street  with  the  evening  papers. 
The  crowd  in  front  of  the  Stock  Exchange  and  its 
Gold  Eoom  was  denser  than  ever  and  was  more 
furiously  excited. 


Barry's  first  lesson  at  selling  newspapers. 


GIVE   US    A   VICTORY.  37 

"Now,  Shiner,"  said  Kid,  "you  pitch  in  on  this  side. 
Barry  can  run  around  below,  and  I'll  take  'em  in  the 
middle.     Whoop!" 

There  was  a  whole  lot  of  mixed  yelling  from  each 
boy.  It  broke  off  into  rapid  sales  of  papers  to  excited 
men  of  all  kinds  and  all  parties.  Barry's  first  idea 
was  that  his  papers  would  all  be  gone  in  a  wink.  His 
next  was  that  there  were  now  about  as  many  news- 
boys as  there  were  stock-brokers  and  speculators,  and 
that  some  of  the  new-comers  had  throats  equal  to  that 
of  Kid  Vogel — almost. 

"Boys!"  he  heard  him  shout,  "cut  for  Broad- 
way !" 

They  were  just  getting  out  of  that  crowd  when  Kid 
added : 

"Go  in,  Barry!  You'll  do  first-rate;  but  you're 
awful  slow  and  careful  'bout  makin'  change.  I 
saw " 

"No,  I  ain't.  I  know  what  you  mean,"  said  Barry. 
"  'T wasn't  a  cent  he  dropped.  'Twas  a  gold  eagle. 
He  said  he  kept  it  so  he  shouldn't  forget  how  it  looked. 
Gave  me  a  quarter  for  finding  it." 

"  Served  you  right !"  said  Kid.     "  Po-o-ost !  " 

"Can't  he?"  said  Shiner,  admiringly.  "Why, 
when  his  mouth's  open  his  head's  half  off." 

On  they  went,  and  Barry  was  ahead,  for  he  was  the 
best  runner  of  the  three ;  but  somehow  or  other  Kid 


38  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

could  sell  more  papers.     They  were  all  out  quickly, 
and  had  to  go  for  a  fresh  sujDply. 

"Twice  as  much  money  as  I  started  with,"  said 
Barry.  "Part  of  it's  that  quarter,  but  I'll  load  up 
and  sell  'em  all  the  way  home.  General  Lee's  doing 
it!" 

There  could  be  no  doubt  but  that  the  great  Con- 
federate general  was  stirring  up  the  people  of  the 
North  tremendously.  The  papers  sold  so  fast  because 
everybody  was  eager  to  know  what  he  would  do  next. 
All  the  soldiers  President  Lincoln  could  gather,  more- 
over, were  on  their  way  to  meet  the  Southern  army; 
and  all  the  world  knew  that  about  the  hardest  battle 
of  the  war  was  very  nearly  at  hand. 

Some  thought  they  knew  more  than  others  about 
what  was  coming,  but  some  of  the  most  knowing  on 
both  sides  of  the  war  were  the  most  in  doubt.  Two 
men  of  that  kind  sat  in  the  back  office  of  Washington 
Vernon  &  Co. ,  Bankers,  with  the  door  shut  and  bolted. 
Before  them,  spread  on  the  table,  were  the  papers 
brought  to  Mr.  Vernon  by  the  ragged  boy  his  book- 
keeper had  called  Charcoal. 

"What  do  you  think,  Mr.  Mapleson?"  asked  Mr. 
Vernon.  "  How  nearly  are  we  ready  to  make  our 
New  York  rising?  They  seem  to  expect  a  great  deal 
of  us — none  too  much!" 

"Not  a  bit  too  much!"  said  Mr.  Mapleson.     "We 


GIVE    US    A    VICTORY.  39 

are  ready  now.  If  Lee  will  accomplish  his  part,  I 
can  do  mine.  I  can  have  a  provisional  government 
in  charge  of  New  York,  with  all  the  forts  and  shij)s, 
and  the  Treasury,  and  the  banks,  and  so  forth,  in  my 
hands  before  he  gets  here.  There's  hardly  enough 
men  to  mount  guard  in  the  forts  nov/.  Just  one 
thing's  in  the  way." 

He  was  a  dignified-looking,   elderly  man,   with  a 
stiff  white  mustache  and  cold,  piercing  blue  eyes. 

"What's  that?"  asked  Mr.  Vernon.     "What  can- 
not General  Lee  do?" 

"He  hasn't  men  enough,"  said  Mr.  Mapleson.  "A 
hundred  thousand  isn't  enough.  He  must  win  two 
victories,  you  see.  He  must  win  one  over  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  before  the  day  for  the  draft.  Then 
about  that  time  he  must  win  another  over  all  that's 
left  of  that  army,  with  all  the  militia  re-enforcements. 
If  he  will  do  that,  or  if  he  will  win  only  one  genuine 
sweeping  victory,  we  can  do  the  rest  easily.  Send 
your  black  boy  back  and  tell  General  Lee  just  what  I 
say.  New  York  City  will  rise  against  the  Lincoln 
government  on  the  day  fixed  for  enforcing  the  draft, 
if  he  will  give  us  one  victory.  Can  you  trust  your 
messenger?  Even  a  cipher  dispatch  would  be  full  of 
danger." 

"He    will    be    here    again    to-morrow,"  said    Mr. 
Vernon,    "and   I   will   decide.     I  could  not   let  him 


40  THE    BATTLE    OF   NEW    YORK. 

stay  in  this  office  to-day,  you  know,  for  more  than  a 
minute  or  so." 

"  Of  course  not, "  replied  Mr.  Mapleson ;  and  his  voice 
grew  deep  and  stern  as  he  added :  "I  can  take  full 
possession  of  New  York  between  twelve  o'clock,  mid- 
night, and  daylight  of  any  day  we  agree  upon  after 
Lee  wins  his  victory." 

He  took  his  hat  and  went  out,  and  Mr.  Vernon 
looked  after  him,  remarking: 

"There  isn't  a  doubt  of  it!  Ferdinand  Mapleson 
could  make  a  tremendous  name  for  himself.  He  is  a 
strong  man.  He  could  take  the  city;  and  then  he 
could  govern  it  well.  And  some  people  would  call 
him  a  statesman  and  a  patriot,  and  others,  if  they 
were  beyond  his  reach,  would  call  him  by  quite  another 
name.  They'd  call  him  a  traitor!  They'd  hang  him, 
too!" 

There  were  all  sorts  of  opinions,  therefore,  about 
the  war,  and  about  the  men  who  were  carrying  it  on 
and  the  deeds  they  were  doing  or  planning.  Up  at 
Mrs.  Bedding's  boarding-house  all  things  had  gone  on 
very  quietly  for  a  little  while  after  dinner.  Then, 
however,  Diana  Lee,  in  the  kitchen,  was  startled  by 
a  loud  ringing  of  the  basement  door  bell. 

"Thar!"  she  exclaimed.  "That  ar'  good-fer-nuffin 
gal's  somewhar'  upstars.  Eeckon  I'll  'tend  doah  my- 
self." 


GIVE    US   A   VICTORY.  41 

To  do  SO  was  evidently  somewhat  below  her  idea  of 
her  own  dignity  and  duty,  but  she  went.  Hardly  had 
she  opened  the  door,  before  she  exclaimed : 

"Sho!  w'ot  you  want  heah,  you  brack  vagabon'? 
Jes'  you  git  out,  now!" 

She  saw  before  her  a  very,  very  black  boy,  of  per- 
haps about  Barry's  age,  who  wore  a  very  dirty, 
ragged  suit  of  butternut-colored  clothing.  He  also 
seemed  to  wear  an  air  of  mystery  and  secrecy  as  he 
replied : 

"Hush  up,  aunty!  Does  you  know  anybody  roun' 
heah  by  de  name  of  Eandolph?" 

"Dis  is  whar  dey  board,"  she  replied,  eying  him 
from  head  to  foot  suspiciously.  "Who's  you,  any- 
how?    I's  Diana  Lee." 

"I's  glad  yoii's  Dinah  Lee,"  he  said.  "I  doesn't 
b'long  to  de  Lees.  I's  a  Eandolph.  Jes'  you  tell  'em 
Uncle  John  sent  me.  I  wouldn't  ha'  foun'  de  house, 
but  I  heard  a  feller  tell  'bout  Missy  Lilian  swung  de 
flag." 

Diana  stared  hard  at  him.  She  noticed  that  his 
hair  was  cut  close  to  his  head,  so  that  his  hat  came 
down  and  covered  nearly  all  of  it,  and  that  he  was  a 
decidedly  handsome  black  boy,  with  a  Koman  nose 
and  a  jaunty  way  of  holding  up  his  head. 

"Bress  your  soul,  honey!"  she  said,  at  the  end  of 
her  survey.     "Reckon  I  know  w'ot's  w'ot.     I'll  tell 


42  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

'em,  right  off.  Dey's  all  good  folks  in  dis  house, 
now,  I  tell  ye!     Don't  ye  be  'feared  ob  Miss  Eedding." 

"I  will  stay  down  here  in  the  entry,"  he  said  in  a 
low,  clear  voice,  as  Diana  hurried  upstairs  with  her 
errand. 

She  did  not  have  to  go  further  than  the  parlor  before 
she  met  Lilian  and  her  mother  and  whispered  eagerly : 

"Hark  to  me,  now!  I's  got  somethin'  to  tell  ye,  I 
has.  You's  got  news  from  de  Souf!  Thah's  a  young 
feller  heah  from  yer  Uncle  John.  Jes'  a  kine  o'  col- 
ored boy.     He's  down  at  de  doah." 

"0  mother!"  whispered  Lilian.  "Let  me  go  and 
see  him !" 

"Be  still,  dear!"  said  Mrs.  Eandolph.  "If  he  is 
from  your  Uncle  John  the  other  side  would  call  him 
a  spy." 

"No,  dey  wouldn't,"  protested  Diana.  "  Why,  sho ! 
he's  a  heap  bracker'n  I  be.  Dey  don't  mind  de  col- 
ored folks  comin'  through." 

Perhaps  not,  but  Lilian  had  gone  past  her  like  a 
flash,  and  was  already  half-way  down  the  stairs  and 
her  mother  was  trying  to  catch  up  with  her  before 
Diana  was  out  of  the  parlor. 

"Lilian!" 

"Davis  Eandolph!     You  here?" 

"Davis!     0  my  son!" 

"Mother!" 


GIVE   US   A  VICTORY.  43 

Their  arms  were  around  him  and  they  kissed  him 
frantically,  but  in  a  moment  more  he  managed  to  say : 

"  Mother,  this  was  the  only  way  I  could  get  through 
the  Federal  lines.  They  watch  for  spies,  you  know. 
But  I  had  to  come  and  see  you  and  Lilian.  IVe 
brought  loads  of  news,  too — soon's  we  get  where  I 
can  tell  it." 

"0  my  son,  my  son!"  sobbed  Mrs.  Eandolph. 
"What  a  terrible  risk  for  you  to  run!" 

"Dave!"  exclaimed  Lilian,  "I'm  as  proud  of  you 
as  I  can  be;  but  I'm  glad  Diana  went  to  the  door." 

"Eeckon  she  did!"  came  from  a  fiercely  enthusias- 
tic voice  behind  them.  "You  kin  jes'  trus'  Dinah! 
Do  you  s'pose  I'd  hurt  'im?  I's  one  ob  de  ole  sort,  I 
is!     I's  a  Lee!" 

She  was  proud  enough  of  that  family  fact,  but  not 
so  much  so  of  another,  for  she  added : 

"How  he  did  fool  me,  dough!  Tell  ye  w'ot.  Mars' 
Eandolph !  now  you  isn't  a  cuUud  pusson  you's  got  to 
lookout  fob  youself.  De  army  folks'd  shet  ye  up, 
suah." 

"Mrs.  Eandolph!"  was  exclaimed  excitedly  at  that 
moment,  as  Mrs.  Eedding  herself  came  down  the 
stairs. 

"0  Mrs.  Eedding!"  replied  Mrs.  Eandolph.  "My 
only  son!  He  made  his  way  through  the  lines  to 
come  and  see  his  mother, " 


44  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

"God  bless  him!"  said  Mrs.  Redding  fervently. 
"We  will  do  all  we  can.  Take  him  upstairs  right 
away." 

"And  get  the  black  off,"  said  Lilian.  "I'm  just 
wild  to  have  a  good  look  at  him." 

"And  I'll  go  out  and  get  him  some  clothes,"  said 
his  excited  mother.  "  They  mustn't  find  him  in  dis- 
guise, and  say  he's  a  spy." 

"Oh,  nonsense!"  said  Mrs.  Redding.  "They  won't 
care  how  he  came.  He  can't  hurt  the  army.  Don't 
I  know  what  my  husband  would  say?" 

"You're  just  as  good  as  you  can  be,"  said  Lilian, 
"but  I'm  glad  the  black'll  come  off." 

"I  should  say  it  would!"  laughed  Mrs.  Redding. 
"Some  of  it's  on  your  face  now;  and  look  at  your 
mother's !"  Diana  was  already  chuckling  over  that 
fact  so  vigorously  that  nobody  could  make  out  what 
she  was  saying. 

"Why,  Lilian!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Randolph,  "that's 
so!     Come,  Davis — come  right  along  with  me!" 

In  a  few  seconds  more  Mrs.  Redding  was  alone. 
She  held  a  paper  in  her  hand,  and  she  looked  at  it  as 
she  said  to  herself,  in  an  almost  bewildered  way : 

"Her  son!  How  strange  it  all  is!  But  I  don't  see 
what  we  are  all  going  to  do  if  Mr.  Hunker  takes  the 
house.  I  thought  I  could  pay  him  any  time  before 
the  end  of  the  quarter.     I  could  have  paid  him  up 


GIVE   US   A   VICTORY.  45 

before  this  if  all  of  them  had  paid  me.  Turn  us  all 
into  the  street?  The  old  villain!  He  can't  and  he 
shan't!  I'll  manage  it  somehow.  We'll  see!  Some- 
thing will  come.     I'm  sure  it  will." 

She  looked  very  courageous  for  a  moment,  and 
then  she  turned  and  went  upstairs  with  a  slow,  wea- 
ried step  and  an  air  of  despondency.  She  was  in  a 
kind  of  war  with  circumstances,  and  in  this  particular 
battle  of  it  she  was  sadly  in  need  of  re-enforcements. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE     NEWSBOYS. 

'RS.  RANDOLPH  and  Lilian  took  Davis  up 

to  their  own  room,   declaring   somewhat 

excitedly  that  they  "would  make  him  look 

like  a  gentleman   before  anybody  had  a 

chance  to  see  him." 

The    moment   the    door    of    the   room   closed 

behind    them,   however,    they  both    stood    still    and 

looked  at  him.     There  did  not  seem  to  be  anything  to 

admire,  for  he  had  been  shoved  around  and  tumbled 

and  dusted,  until  all  that  could  be  seen  was  a  very 

dirty,  ragged  young  black  fellow.     His  face,  indeed, 

was  shining  with   delight,   through  all   its  coloring; 

while  the  faces  of  his  mother  and  sister  were  putting 

on  expressions  of  almost  hopeless  despair. 

"Why,  we  can't  do  anything  for  him!"  burst  from 

the  lips  of  Lilian.     "We  haven't  a  penny!" 

"O    Davis!"    exclaimed    his    mother    desperately. 

"I've  no  money!      I  can't  get  you  any  clothes.      I 

can't  even  pay  our  board.     If  it  hadn't  been  for  Mrs. 

Redding What  shall  we  do?" 

She  was  answered  by  a  loud  laugh  of  boyish  exul- 

4G 


THE    NEWSBOYS.  47 

tation  that  made  her  and  Lilian  open  their  eyes  with 
surprise,  but  Davis  was  fumbhng  among  what  might 
be  called  the  dark  corners  of  his  ragged  coat,  and  was 
tearing  open  the  waistband  of  his  trousers. 

"Thousand  dollars!"  he  shouted.  "There!  Part 
of  it  is  from  Uncle  John,  and  part  of  it  is  from  some  of 
our  tobacco  that  ran  the  Charleston  blockade.  Some 
of  Uncle  John's  Carolina  cotton  got  through,  too." 

"Isn't  that  splendid?"  said  Lilian.  "Dave,  you're 
a  darling!     It's  tod  good  to  be  true!" 

"Oh,  my  dear  boy!"  said  his  mother.  "Now  I  can 
pay  Mrs.  Eedding.  We  owe  her  for  nearly  three 
months'  board.  But  how  do  they  get  hold  of  green- 
backs down  South?" 

"That's  easy  enough,"  said  Dave,  counting  over 
the  money.  "  Some  come  by  way  of  England.  We 
get  some  every  time  we  win  a  victory.  Besides, 
there's  a  heap  of  trading  done  right  through  the 
army  lines.  Anyhow,  General  Lee  is  going  to  be  in 
New  York  in  a  few  weeks.  He  is  on  his  way.  He  is 
in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  marching  north." 

"  Hurrah !"  exclaimed  Lilian,  all  but  dancing.  "  Oh, 
if  he  will  only  come!  Why,  greenbacks?  He'll  get 
all  there  are  here,  and  the  North  will  have  to  pay  the 
South  back  for  what  the  war  has  cost.    Isn't  it  grand?" 

"I  guess  they  couldn't  do  that,"  said  Dave,  "but 
he  is  coming." 


48  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

"You  are  going  to  stay  here "  began  Mrs.  Ean- 

dolph. 

"Just  a  little,"  said  Dave.  "I  can't  tell.  But 
Uncle  John  says  there  are  harder  times  coming  for 
both  sides." 

"You're  not  going  back?"  said  Lilian. 

"I've  got  to,"  said  Dave,  "but  I  must  learn  all  I 
can  first.     It's  a  kind  of  scouting  duty." 

All  they  wanted  to  say  had  to  be  cut  off.  The 
black  boy  had  to  go  to  the  bath-room  to  change  his 
complexion,  while  his  mother  and  sister  went  out  to 
buy  him  a  suit  of  clothes. 

"I  wonder  what  Barry  will  say,"  remarked  Lilian, 
as  they  went.  "  He  won't  hurt  Davis.  But  oh,  how 
good  it  is!  Think  of  General  Lee  coming  up  and 
taking  New  York!  How  splendid  it  will  be  to  see 
our  own  flag  everywhere,  and  our  soldier-boys  march- 
ing through  the  streets !" 

"Hush,  Lilian!"  said  her  mother.  "Somebody 
might  hear  you." 

"Let's  buy  a  paper,"  replied  Lilian,  "and  see  what 
news  they  are  printing." 

They  were  not  likely  to  have  to  wait  long  for  a 
newsboy.  One,  in  particular,  was  about  to  set  out 
for  his  uptown  business,  and  was  getting  some  advice. 

"Barry,"  said  the  Shiner  wisely,  "don't  you  ever 
say   'xactly  w'ot  the  news  is.     Keep  them  big-type 


THE    NEWSBOYS.  49 

black  letters  out  where  folks  can  see  'em.  They  all 
want  to  buy  somethin'  black." 

That  may  have  been  his  notion  partly  because  he 
was  a  boot-black  whenever  he  was  not  a  newsboy. 
That  was  where  his  name  came  from. 

"They're  awful  big  and  black  to-day,"  said  Barry; 
"and  here  I've  been  selling  papers  all  day,  and  haven't 
read  the  news  myself." 

"Who  cares  what  it  is?"  remarked  Kid  Vogel.  "I 
don't  look  at  it  half  the  time." 

Barry  was  looking,  however,  and  reading;  and  it 
was  a  column  almost  altogether  made  up  of  big 
black  lines : 

EXTRA!!!! 


LEE^S   AEMY   MOYI^G! 


Siege   of  Vicksburg — England   and    France — The     Blockade-Run- 
ners— General    Grant — A  Talk   with    President    Lincoln — 
Army  of  the  Potomac — Proposed  Capture  of  Rich- 
mond— Fortifying    Baltimore — Earthworks 
at  Harrisburg — Naval  Operations — 
Siege  of  Charleston — 
Congress. 


There  has  been  no  important  change  in  the  aspect 
of  national  or  military  affairs  since  our  last  edition, 
but  all  indications  point  to  the  immediate  occurrence 
of  startling  events. 


50  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

"There!''  exclaimed  Barry.  "All  the  news  is  in 
small  type,  at  the  bottom;  and  there  isn't  any,  any- 
how." 

"Don't  them  editors  know?"  asked  Kid.  "How'd 
we  sell  their  extrys  if  they  didn't  give  us  a  lift?  We 
wouldn't  have  anything  to  holler," 

That  was  too  plain  for  argument,  and  Barry  set 
off,  leaving  his  two  friends  to  carry  on  a  downtown 
business.  It  seemed  to  him  that  all  the  people  he  met 
wore  anxious  faces;  and  so  many  of  them  had  five 
cents  to  spare  that  when  he  reached  his  own  door  he 
said  aloud : 

"I  declare!  I  haven't  a  paper  left  for  mother! 
Well,  there  wasn't  any  news  to  speak  of,  and  I've 
got  some  money  to  show  her.     She'll  be  glad  of  that." 

Not  many  minutes  later  be  was  looking  into  her 
face  with  intense  interest,  while  she  was  telling  him 
the  very  latest  news ;  and  when  she  paused  for  breath, 
saying,  "We  must  be  careful  and  not  hurt  him,"  he 
exclaimed : 

"Hurt  him!  I  hurt  him?  Now,  mother,  you  tell 
Lily  and  Mrs.  Randolph  I'll  take  the  best  kind  of  care 
of  him.  I  want  to  see  him,  though,  and  get  him  to 
tell  me  all  about  it.  How  did  he  get  through?  But, 
mother,  I've  made  two  dollars.     Isn't  it  bully?" 

"Why,"  she  said,  "if  you  can  do  half  as  well  as 
that,  I'll  be  satisfied.     If  it  wasn't  for  that  rent !     Mr. 


THE    NEWSBOYS.  51 

Hunker  sent  a  man  with  a  written  demand.      I'm 
almost  at  my  wits'  end." 

There  had  been  a  ring  at  the  door-bell,  to  which 
they  had  paid  no  attention,  and  the  servant  answering 
it  had  let  in  a  man  who  at  once  strode  right  on  into 
the  parlor. 

"Mr.  Hunker!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Eedding,  indig- 
nantly, "you  here  again?" 

He  had  looked  unpleasant  enough  the  first  time, 
but  he  looked  ugly  now.  He  was  dressed  expensively, 
to  be  sure,  and  he  wore  a  diamond  pin ;  but  no  clothes 
or  jewelry  would  have  done  much  for  him.  He  was 
short  and  heavy  and  wheezy,  with  a  very  red  face, 
and  he  had  kept  his  hat  on. 

"Afternoon,  Mrs.  Bedding!"  he  said,  with  a  tight- 
ening of  his  hard,  clean-shaved  lips. 

"Your  notice  came,  sir,"  she  said.  "You  needn't 
have  called." 

There  was  a  very  defiant  expression  on  her  face, 
and  another,  a  trifle  angrier,  was  on  that  of  Barry, 
as  he  looked  at  Mr.  Hunker's  threatening,  frown- 
ing visage  and  heard  him  say : 

"Yes,  ma'am,  I  did  demand  the  rent.  Now  I  find 
you  can't  pay  it,  all  I've  got  to  say  is  you  must  go. 
I've  come  to  demand  it,  once  for  all,  ma'am.  Can 
you  pay,  or  will  you  quit?" 

"Barry,"  whispered  a  voice  behind  him,  "Mother 


52  THE   BATTLE    OF   NEW    YORK. 

says  hand  her  that.  Davis  brought  it.  Tell  her  to 
pay  him." 

Before  Mrs.  Eedding  could  command  her  voice 
sufficiently  to  reply,  however,  Barry  himself  stepped 
right  past  her.  Mr.  Hunker  had  held  out  a  receipt 
ceremoniously  when  he  demanded  the  rent,  and  it  was 
now  suddenly  taken  out  of  his  hand. 

"There's  your  rent,  Mr.  Hunker,"  said  Barry,  rap- 
idly counting  out  the  money;  "and  don't  you  speak 
to  my  mother  in  that  way.  Get  out  of  the  house ! 
Quick!" 

Hunker's  hand  closed  over  the  bills,  but  his  mouth 
opened  with  astonishment. 

"I  reckoned  you  couldn't  pay,  or  I'd  never  have 
offered  that  receipt.     You  kin  give  it  right  back," 

"No,  I  won't,"  said  Barry.  "Take  it,  mother. 
Lilian  handed  me  the  money.  He's  paid  up  square. 
Now,  Mr.  Hunker,  you  can  go." 

"I'll  explain,"  said  Mrs.  Eandolph,  from  the  back 
parlor.     "  Turn  out  that  ruffian !" 

"Euffian?"  echoed  Mr.  Hunker.  "Did  she  say  I 
was  a  ruffian?" 

" I  do, "  almost  shouted  Barry ;  "and  you're  an  old 
red  Copperhead,  too!" 

Mr.  Hunker's  mouth  was  opening  and  shutting, 
but  he  was  beaten ;  for  Mrs.  Eedding,  with  the  receipt, 
had  instantly  hurried  away,  exclaiming: 


Barry  tells  3Ir.  Hunl^er  he  can  go. 


THE    NEWSBOYS.  53 

"Why,  Mrs.  Eandolph!  I'm  so  thankful." 

"You  can  go,"  repeated  Barry  to  Hunker. 

"I'll  get  even  with  you,  I  will!"  muttered  the  dis- 
appointed landlord,  as  he  slowly  walked  out.  "  How 
could  this  'ere  thing  have  happened?  She's  losin' 
money." 

He  was  evidently  studying  hard  upon  his  problem 
when  Barry  slammed  the  front  door  behind  him,  for 
his  last  words  were:  "And  I  hed  an  offer  of  nigh 
twicet  as  much  for  the  haouse!" 

"You're  Barry  Eedding?" 

Barry  turned  from  bolting  the  door,  and  out  went 
his  right  hand  eagerly. 

"You're  Davis  Eandolph?"  he  said — "Lilian's 
brother?  Ain't  I  glad  you  got  through!  We'll  all 
take  care  of  you. " 

"Hear  those  boys!  They're  acquainted  already," 
said  Mrs.  Eandolph  in  the  back  parlor.  "0  Mrs. 
Eedding,  I  am  so  glad  to  be  able  to  pay  that 
board !" 

"I'm  so  glad  you  could,"  began  Mrs.  Eedding,  but 
Lilian  interrupted  her  with : 

"Barry's  splendid!  How  he  did  turn  out  that  old 
fellow !" 

"Barry's  his  father's  son,"  said  his  mother  proudly, 
and  Mrs.  Eandolph  suddenly  added : 

"They're  both  soldier-boys.     Why,  how  strange  it 


54  THE    BATTLE   OF   NEW   YORK. 

seems!  How  can  those  two  boys  be  upon  opposite 
sides?     It's  all  wrong!" 

"Think  of  Davis  and  Barry,"  exclaimed  Lilian, 
" being  soldiers  and  having  to  shoot  each  other!  I'm 
glad  they're  neither  of  them  old  enough." 

" I'm  not  glad,"  said  Dave.  "  I  wish  I  was  a  soldier 
now !" 

"So  do  I,"  said  Barry;  "but  if  I  should  take  Dave 
a  prisoner  I'd  treat  him  right.  Tell  you  what,  Dave — 
you're  a  kind  of  prisoner  now.  You're  inside  of  our 
lines." 

"I  guess  he's  safe  enough,"  said  Mrs.  Eedding. 

"But  he's  got  to  tell  me  everything,"  said  Barry. 
"  Come  on,  Dave.  Mother  says  she's  put  up  an  extra 
bed  in  my  room  for  you.  It's  a  load  better  than  being 
locked  up  in  Fort  Lafayette." 

"You  can't  lock  him  up,"  said  Lilian. 

"  You  ought  to  be,  anyhow,"  said  Barry,  blushing 
hard  as  he  said  it.  "You're  more  Southern  than 
he  is." 

"I  reckon  not,"  said  Davis;  but  off  they  went  to- 
gether, for  it  was  time  for  Mrs.  Redding  and  her 
helpers  to  think  of  all  the  boarders  who  were  soon  to 
come  in  hungry. 

Outside  of  the  house  a  man  who  had  lingered  in 
front  of  it  looked  up,  with  a  face  as  red  as  one  of  its 
bricks,  and  muttered : 


THE  NEWSBOYS.  55 

"Well,  if  I  wasn't  dead  sure  she  couldn't  pay  that 
rent !  It  can't  be  she's  really  a-makm'  money,  keepin' 
boardin'-haouse  in  these  times.  I'll  git  her  out, 
somehaow.  I'd  like  to,  I  would — and  that  there  lot 
o'  Virginny  rebs  with  her!  That  is,  I  won't  say  I 
would  if  Gineral  Lee's  reelly  comin'.  I'd  want  to  be 
right  side  up  if  he  did.  I've  on'y  lied  jist  one  con- 
tract from  the  Linkin  gov'ment,  and  I  somehow  can't 
git  no  more.  I  know  I  could  git  one  through  Maple- 
son,  if  the  Saouth  was  holdin'  New  York." 

That  was  a  curious  kind  of  evening  at  Mrs.  Bed- 
ding's boarding-house.  Somehow  or  other  her  board- 
ers were  hardly  able  to  get  a  glimpse  of  her,  even 
when  they  tried  to.  The  kitchen  was  deserted,  too ; 
for  Diana  Lee  did  her  last  work  like  a  steam-engine, 
and  disappeared  upstairs,  remarking : 

"I  jes'  want  to  heah  all  he's  got  to  say,"  for  she 
had  begged  hard  not  to  be  counted  out  of  a  little 
family  party  that  was  to  meet  in  Mrs.  Eandolph's 
own  room. 

It  was  a  sort  of  questions-and-answers  party,  and 
it  kept  one  of  its  members  very  busy  all  the  time.  At 
last  Barry  asked : 

"Now,  Dave,  did  you  ever  see  a  whole  army  when 
it  was  all  together?" 

"No,  sir-ree!"  said  Dave.  "Nobody  ever  did.  It's 
too  big.     It's  all  over  the  country — on  the  roads,  in 


56  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW   YORK. 

its  works,  in  the  camps,  behind  hills  and  woods.  You 
can't  ever  see  an  army.  Well,  yes,  I  kind  o'  saw 
Lee's  army  once — at  night." 

"Saw  it  at  night?"  exclaimed  Barry. 

"Nearest  I  ever  came  to  it,"  said  Dave.  "I  was 
just  about  leaving  to  come  here,  and  Uncle  John  sent 
me  up  to  the  signal-station  on  the  top  of  Black  Cap 
Mountain  with  a  message.  When  I  got  there  I  could 
look  down  and  see  the  camp-fires  as  far  as  I  could 
look — thousands  of  them." 

"It  must  have  been  grand!"  said  Lilian. 

"Oh,  but  wasn't  it!"  said  Dave;  "and  so  was  the 
signal  for  all  to  move  in  the  morning." 

"What  was  that?"  asked  Barry. 

"  We  set  the  woods  at  the  top  of  the  mountain  on 
fire,"  said  Dave.  "Then  away  across  the  valley  they 
ansv^^ered  by  setting  Pine  Gap  Mountain  on  fire.  It 
told  everybody  what  to  do.  Anyhow,  that's  what 
they  told  me.  I  don't  know  it  all.  They  blazed  like 
two  volcanoes." 

"Don't  I  wish  I'd  been  there!"  said  Barry. 

"Some  of  your  fellows  were  in  the  valley  and  saw 
it,"  said  Dave.  "We  took  'em  prisoners  only  a  few 
days  before." 

Excitement,  and  scout  duty  in  an  enemy's  country, 
and  telling  all  there  is  to  tell  will  tire  any  boy  out. 
Therefore  Davis  Eandolph  was  sound  asleej)  the  next 


THE    NEWSBOYS.  57 

morning  long  after  Barry  Eedding  went  downtown 
with  a  feeling  that  he  was  somehow  going  into  a 
newspaper-extra  battle. 

Kid  and  the  Shiner  were  on  hand,  and  the  three 
associates  made  their  first  strokes  of  business  at  the 
steamer  landings.  They  did  well  with  a  great, 
crowded  river  steamer  that  came  down  the  Hudson ; 
and  they  sold  liberal  bundles  of  extras  to  the  passen- 
gers of  a  steamship  that  was  just  in  from  England. 
There  were  lulls  in  the  rush  of  trade,  however ;  and 
whenever  there  was  a  chance  they  were  eager  to  listen 
to  Barry's  thrilling  story  of  the  Southern  boy  who  had 
squirmed  his  way  clean  through  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac.  He  was  a  hero.  He  had  actually  seen 
General  Lee  and  Stonewall  Jackson,  and  had  heard 
them  command  their  men.  He  had  almost  seen  a 
battle,  and  he  had  heard  the  roar  of  cannon. 

"Oh,  but  wasn't  he  gritty!"  exclaimed  the  Shiner. 

"The  cops  won't  hurt  him,"  remarked  Kid. 

"I'm  going  to  sojer  it,  soon's  I'm  old  enough," 
suddenly  exclaimed  the  Shiner.  "Tell  youw'ot!  I'll 
raise  a  comp'ny,  and  go  in  as  captain." 

"I  guess  I  won't,"  replied  Kid.  "I'd  ruther  sell 
newspapers  to  the  hull  army.  Oh,  but  wouldn't  that 
be  fun!  Make  piles  o'  money,  too!  Then  all  the 
army'd  know  'bout  the  battles  they're  fightin'." 

" I'm  goin',  soon's  I  can,"  said  Barry.     "  Dave  says 


58  THE   BATTLE   OF   NEW   YORK. 

he  and  all  the  Southern  fellows  drill  just  like  our  mil- 
litia,  getting  ready  to  pitch  in.  He  can  shoot  with  a 
rifle.     He  can  fence  some,  too." 

The  boy  they  were  talking  about  was  not  thinking 
of  them,  nor  of  anything  that  he  had  already  done ; 
for  he  was  trying  to  find  out  what  he  was  to  do 
next. 

Mr.  Simpson,  the  head  book-keeper  of  the  banking- 
house  of  Washington  Vernon  &  Co.,  was  standing 
behind  his  desk,  when  a  well-dressed  young  fellow 
walked  in,  touched  his  hat  with  a  graceful  bow,  and 
asked  with  the  utmost  politeness : 

"Is  Mr.  Vernon  in,  sir?" 

"He  is,"  said  Mr.  Simpson  promptly.  "Anything 
I  can  do  for  you?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  the  young  fellow.  "Please  tell 
him  I  have  a  verbal  message  of  importance  from  a 
friend  of  his." 

"Certainly,"  said  the  book-keeper;  and  it  was  only 
a  moment  before  the  banker  himself,  in  the  inner 
office,  had  also  been  politely  bowed  to  and  had  smiled 
inquiringly  at  his  prepossessing  young  visitor. 

Then  he  was  startled  by  hearing : 

"Is  you  Mars'  Vernon,  sah?  Yes,  sah,  I  tole  you 
I'd  come  down  dis  mawnin'.  I's  from  ole  Virginny, 
sah,  I  is.     I  knows  all  de  Vernons  down  dah,  sah." 

"You  don't  tell  me!"  exclaimed  the  banker,  getting 


THE   NEWSBOYS.  59 

up  at  once  to  go  and  bolt  the  door.  "Well,  if  this 
doesn't  beat  all!     Tell  me  your  name." 

"I  am  Davis  Mason  Randolph,"  said  the  young  fel- 
low quietly.  "I  came  up  here  to  visit  my  mother  and 
sister,  but  I  was  told  that  it  might  be  necessary  for 
me  to  get  back  at  once  to  my  relatives  in  West  Vir- 
ginia, just  south  of  the  Potomac." 

"I'm  glad  you  kept  dark  yesterday,"  said  Mr.  Ver- 
non; and  he  did  not  mean  any  fun.  "Have  you  seen 
your  mother  and  sister?     Tell  me  everything." 

Dave  told  him  all  that  seemed  to  him  worth  telling, 
and  he  was  showered  with  compliments  by  the  banker. 

"Came  through  the  lines  with  a  drove  of  contra- 
bands!" he  exclaimed — "blacked  boots,  stole  wagon- 
rides,  took  a  horse  from  a  pasture  and  rode  him  all 
night  bare-backed ;  and  went  into  New  York  at  last 
on  a  railway,  like  any  other  passenger!  You'll  do! 
The  Southern  boys  are  beating  the  Yankees  all  hollow 
for  'cuteness.  Now,  I've  something  more  to  say  to 
you." 

He  paused  and  seemed  to  ponder  and  hesitate. 
Perhaps  it  was  because  Dave  seemed  so  very  young ; 
and  that  idea  may  have  occurred  to  Dave  himself,  for 
he  said : 

"If  I  came  one  way  I  can  go  back  another,  Mr. 
Vernon.  I  know  exactly  what  to  do.  If  I  were  older 
I  couldn't  do  it." 


60  THE   BATTLE    OF   NEW   YORK. 

"Just  so!"  exclaimed  the  banker.  "Well,  you 
had  better  go  home  now.  See  all  you  can  of  the  city. 
Have  a  good  time  to-day  and  to-morrow.  Come  here 
to-morrow  afternoon,  ready  to  set  out  at  once.  Tell 
your  mother  to  take  a  large  sheet  of  paper  and  write 
a  letter  to  your  Uncle  John.  Leave  it  open,  so  I  can 
add  a  postscript.  Bring  it  when  you  come.  I'll  ask 
you  once  more  about  money.  No,  I  won't.  Give 
your  mother  every  cent  you  have.  Here's  a  hundred. 
Spend  all  you  want  to  spend.  You  deserve  it.  It's 
pay  and  rations.  We'll  see  that  you  have  all  that's 
needed — and  she,  too."  Mr.  Vernon  seemed  to  feel 
altogether  enthusiastic,  and  so  did  Dave.  He  took 
the  money  readily,  with  thanks,  while  Mr.  Vernon 
remarked  to  him : 

"You'll  do.  I'll  tell  'em  so.  But  to  think  of  the 
corners  you  must  cut  and  the  risks  you  must  run  be- 
fore you  can  look  General  Lee  in  the  face,  and  tell 
him  you  have  brought  him  a  dispatch  from  his  cousin 
Vernon!" 


CHAPTEE  V. 

THE  CONFEDERATE  SPY. 

ES,  captain,  it  was  a  black  woman  shoved 
me  down  the  steps,  but  it  was  a  white 
8  girl  waved  the  Confederate  flag.  What  I 
want  to  do  is  to  go  and  get  it.  She's  a 
reb,  right  from  Virginia!" 
It  was  the  very  man  upon  whom  Diana  had  shut  the 
door,  after  telling  him  to  "Go  and  be  a  sojer!"  He 
was  a  lank,  mean-looking  fellow,  but  he  was  talking 
to  a  bluff  sort  of  man  in  a  rusty  blue  uniform,  who 
was  neither  lank  nor  mean  in  his  appearance,  and  who 
replied : 

"Nonsense!  We  don't  care  a  cent  for  out-and-out 
Southern  rebs  here.  All  our  trouble  is  with  Northern 
Copperheads.  But  what  about  that  boy?  What  do 
you  know?" 

"I  found  out  all  about  it,"  said  the  informer 
eagerly.  "He  came  through  the  lines  yesterday. 
The  upstairs  girl  told  her  cousin  and  he  told  me — 
right  from  Lee's  army.  His  mother  lives  in  that 
house.     He's  a  spy — sneaked  up  here " 

61 


63  THE   BATTLE    OF   NEW   YORK. 

"That'll  do.  No,  you  can't  have  any  men  to  raise 
a  muss  about  any  girl  and  her  flag.  Go  and  volun- 
teer, if  you  feel  like  doing  something  for  your  country. 
Guess  there  isn't  much  fight  in  you,  but  you  might 
stop  a  bullet." 

There  was  an  unconcealed  contempt  in  the  captain's 
manner,  and  his  informant  went  out  of  the  office  with 
his  head  a  little  down.  Instead  of  being  welcomed  as 
an  eager  patriot  he  had  been  severely  snubbed  as  a 
fellow  of  no  account. 

Hardly  had  he  gone,  however,  before  the  captain 
said  to  himself: 

"Anyhow,  it's  my  duty  to  see  about  that  boy.  I'll 
send  for  him.  There's  mischief  brewing  of  some  kind, 
I  can  feel  it  in  the  air.  We  don't  watch  all  the  cor- 
ners as  they  do  down  South." 

He  seemed  to  be  gloom}^  and  irritated,  and  he  at 
once  sat  down  and  wrote  what  seemed  to  be  a  mili- 
tary order.  Then  he  rang  a  little  gong  on  his  desk, 
and  a  private  soldier  came  into  the  office  and  carried 
the  order  away. 

" They  can  catch  him  best  at  about  dinner-time," 
said  the  captain. 

Over  on  Broadway,  at  no  great  distance  from  that 
very  office,  a  slim  boy,  in  clothes  too  small  for  him, 
was  walking  along  with  a  solitary  newspaper  in  his 
hand,  saying  to  himself ; 


THE   CONFEDERATE   SPY.  63 

"  'Cording  to  what  Dave  and  Lilian  say  the  war 
isn't  of  any  use.  All  the  men  have  been  killed  for 
nothing.  I  s'pose  father  and  all  the  rest  would  have 
to  be  killed  before  General  Lee  could  march  his  army 
here.     Don't  I  wish  I  was  old  enough!" 

He  did  not  know  how  savagely  in  earnest  he  had 
been  talking.  He  had  been  looking  down  and  walk- 
ing right  along;  and  he  almost  ran  against  a  gray- 
headed,  middle-sized  man,  who  suddenly  said : 

"Halt!" 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Barry,  holding  out  his  paper. 
^^  Times,  sir.     Last  paper  I've  got." 

"I'll  take  it,"  said  the  man.  "I  heard  what  you 
said,  my  boy.  President  Lincoln  wants  three  hun- 
dred thousand  grown-up  men  that  feel  just  as  you 
do." 

" Hope  he'll  get  'em,"  said  Barry.  "My  father's  in 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,"  Just  there  he  felt  as  if 
he  were  waking  up,  for  the  man  wore  a  uniform  and 
had  star  shoulder-straps. 

"Mister!"  exclaimed  Barry,  "ain't  you  a  general?" 

"Yes,  my  boy,"  said  the  man,  smiling  very  kindly. 
"I'm  a  general.  I  command  the  forts  around  the 
harbor.     My  name  is  Brown." 

"I  want  to  ask  a  question,"  said  Barry  earnestly. 
Could  General  Lee  take  New  York?" 

"No,"  said  the  general,  "he  could  never  take  New 


64  THE    BATTLE    OF   NEW   YORK. 

York — not  even  if  he  could  get  here;  and  he  can't  do 
that." 

"I  know  a  boy  that  says  he's  commg,"  said  Barry. 
"He's  a  Southern  boy." 

" Of  course,"  said  the  general.  "They  all  think  so, 
but  he  couldn't  take  the  city  without  taking  the  forts 
and  all  the  gunboats  in  the  harbor.  I  hope  the  war 
will  be  over  before  we  want  you." 

"But,  general,"  persisted  Barry,  "I  know  another 
man:  he  says  all  the  drafted  men  won't  be  taken. 
They're  all  going  to  rebel.  They  can  take  the  forts, 
too." 

"No,  they  can't,"  said  the  general  sharply;  but  a 
swift  change  was  coming  over  his  face,  and  he  rapidly 
asked  Barry  several  questions — not  about  Dave  at  all, 
but  about  Palovski. 

" I  don't  want  him,"  he  said ;  "I  only  want  to  know 
what  he  told  you." 

Another  officer  had  joined  the  general,  and  was  lis- 
tening, and  it  was  he  who  at  last  said : 

"Just  as  I  told  you.  General  Brown.  There's 
trouble  ahead." 

"Exactly,  major,"  replied  the  general.  "I  know 
there  is — if  Lee  wins  a  victory ;  not  if  he  is  defeated. 
We  shall  be  ready.  Go  right  along,  my  boy.  If  you 
want  to  see  war,  you  may  have  a  chance  to  see  it  right 
here  on  Broadway." 


THE    CONFEDERATE   SPY.  65 

Just  as  Barry  set  off  at  a  fast  walk,  his  head  all 
a-fever  over  his  talk  with  a  real  war-general,  actually 
in  command  of  the  city  of  New  York,  of  the  soldiers, 
and  of  the  forts,  his  quick  ears  caught  the  word 
"Spy!"  from  the  lips  of  the  major.  It  was  as  if  a 
pin  had  pricked  him  hard,  and  he  sprang  away  at 
once  upon  a  run,  exclaiming: 

"  I  didn't  tell  them  Dave's  name,  nor  where  he  lives. 
If  they  don't  catch  me  they  can't  find  him.  Oh,  what 
a  fool  I  was!" 

He  ran  well  out  of  Broadway  into  and  up  another 
street,  square  after  square;  and  one  man  shouted, 
"Stop  thief!"  but  nobody  stopped  him  or  seemed  to 
be  following  him.  He  was  a  little  out  of  breath  then, 
and  while  he  walked  to  catch  it  again  he  found  him- 
self thinking  furiously. 

"I'm  glad  I  told  about  Palovski.  They  ought  to 
know  that.  I  ought  to  help  them  get  more  soldiers. 
That  wasn't  wrong.  Dave  isn't  any  spy.  No,  they 
didn't  ask  much  about  him.  I  didn't  tell  anything, 
either.  There,  now!  was  it  wrong  to  tell  Kid  and 
the  Shiner?  No,  'twasn't.  They're  not  in  the  army. 
Would  they  tell  anybody  else?     Could  it  hurt  him?" 

He  was  growing  intensely  anxious,  and  he  was  get- 
ting one  entirely  new  idea  to  him.  He  had  always 
thought  of  the  war  as  being  carried  on  along  the 
Potomac  and  away  down  South.     He  had  not  at  all 


66  THE   BATTLE   OF   NEW   YORK. 

understood  that  the  city  he  lived  in  was  like  a  fort, 
and  had  a  garrison,  and  was  in  the  war  as  much 
as  was  any  Southern  city. 

"Ships  of  war  in  the  harbor?"  he  said.  "Why,  I 
thought  they  only  came  here  to  get  mended  and  to 
get  coal  and  provisions.  General  Brown  says  they 
are  here  to  help  the  forts  to  keep  out  General  Lee's 
army.  They  can  do  it,  too;  and  everybody'd  help 
'em  fight." 

Still,  he  did  not  run  any  more.  He  had  thoughts 
which  made  him  walk  pretty  slowly  all  the  way  home. 
His  last  remark  to  himself  seemed  to  give  him  a  vast 
amount  of  relief. 

"No,  sir-ree!"  he  said.  " General  Brown  forgot  to 
ask  my  name.  He  doesn't  know  me,  and  he  doesn't 
know  where  I  live." 

He  had  not  asked  because  he  did  not  care  to  know, 
but  after  Barry  left  him  he  had  said  to  the  major : 

"See  the  police  commissioners  before  the  day  for 
the  draft — that  is,  unless  Lee  is  beaten.  They  may 
need  our  help.     There  is  mischief  brewing." 

Just  before  Barry  reached  his  own  house  three  per- 
sons were  talking  in  low  voices  in  one  of  its  upper 
rooms.  One  of  them  had  been  downtown,  and  had 
returned  with  news  which  had  set  the  other  two 
crying. 

"Dave!"    exclaimed  Mrs.  Eandolph,   "this  is  too 


THE    CONFEDERATE   SPY.  67 

bad!  We've  only  just  seen  you.  I  can't  let  you  go. 
You  can't  get  through  to  General  Lee.  It's  sure 
death." 

"0  Dave!"  sobbed  Lilian,  "I  can't  bear  it!  You 
have  run  risks  enough.  They  ought  to  send  somebody 
else  this  time." 

"Nobody  else  can  go,  Lil,"  said  Davis.  "They 
can't  trust  everybody.  It's  something  that  General 
Lee  must  know  if  he  is  to  capture  New  York.  I'm 
glad  of  the  chance.  I'm  going  to  do  it  for  our  flag — 
do  it  or  die !" 

Barry  had  entered  the  house,  and  he  had  talked 
very  fast  for  a  minute  with  his  mother.  "Barry!" 
she  had  said,  "we  must  go  and  see  them  at  once." 

That  was  the  reason  why  the  door  of  Mrs.  Ran- 
dolph's room  was  now  suddenly  opened. 

"What  is  it?"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Randolph. 

"  Hush !"  replied  Mrs.  Redding  hastily.  "  I'm  afraid 
Dave  is  in  danger." 

"Dave!"  interrupted  Barry,  "I  don't  believe  I  did 
any  harm.  They  don't  know  where  you  live.  I'll  tell 
you  how  it  was." 

"Barry!"  exclaimed  Lilian,  as  she  stepjDed  in  front 
of  him,  "have  you  told  about  Dave?" 

"No,  I  haven't;  I've  come  to  warn  him." 

"Are  they  after  him  already?"  asked  Mrs.  Ran- 
dolph.    "0  my  son!" 


68  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW   YORK. 

"I'd  never  have  thought  that  of  you,  Barry,"  said 
Lilian. 

She  looked  very  pretty  indeed,  but  it  was  hard  to 
say  whether  her  face  contained  more  of  grief  or  indig- 
nation. Barry  looked  straight  at  her,  while  his  mother 
was  saying: 

"  Tell  them  everything,  Barry ;  "  and  then  he  began 
with: 

"  There  isn't  anything  to  tell,"  and  went  on  with  all 
his  talk  with  General  Brown  and  the  major. 

Davis  listened  carefully,  but  at  the  end  of  it  he 
said,  in  a  firm,  low  voice : 

"Mother,  Barry  is  all  right.  I'd  give  a  good  deal 
to  be  arrested.     They'd  let  me  go." 

He  looked  so  brave  and  manly  and  thoughtful  that 
his  mother  kissed  him  for  very  admiration,  but  Mrs. 
Bedding  said: 

"Come,  Barry!  we've  all  got  to  be  very  careful. 
It's  an  awful  state  of  things  when  you  daren't  say 
what  you  want  to." 

She  and  Barry  went  out,  but  they  had  hardly  done 
so  before  Dave  remarked : 

"Mother,  all  that  about  the  forts,  and  the  gunboats, 
and  the  draft,  and  the  police  is  just  what  General  Lee 
wants  to  know.  It's  straight  from  the  Federal  com- 
mander of  the  city  of  New  York.  If  they  would  only 
arrest  me  I  might  learn  something  more  before  I  go." 


THE   CONFEDERATE   SPY.  69 

"It's  just  like  you,  Dave!"  said  Lilian.  "Did  I 
say  anything  to  Barry?     He  felt  pretty  bad." 

There  was  no  doubt  of  that,  but  he  was  to  feel  a 
great  deal  worse.  Of  course  nothing  was  said  at  the 
dinner-table,  for  there  were  boarders  there — men  and 
women.  They  had  all  come  upstairs,  and  Lilian  was 
looking  out  of  a  parlor  window,  when  she  suddenly 
turned  very  pale  and  exclaimed : 

"  Davis — Barry — mother — there  they  are !  The  sol- 
diers have  come  I" 

"  I'll  go  right  with  them,"  said  Davis.  "  I'll  go  and 
get  my  hat.     Mother,  don't  you  come — nor  Lilian!" 

"Yes,  we  will,"  said  his  mother. 

There  was  a  small  tempest  of  whispered,  excited 
remarks,  as  a  corporal  came  up  the  steps,  leaving  two 
soldiers  on  the  sidewalk.  He  rang  the  bell,  and  it 
was  answered  by  Mrs.  Redding. 

"A  young  man  named  Randolph "  he  began. 

"Yes,  sir,  he  is  here,"  she  said.  "He  boards  here. 
What  about  him?" 

"He  is  wanted  at  headquarters." 

"Here  I  am,"  said  Davis,  stepping  out.  "I'm 
Randolph.  Come  on,  Barry!  let's  go  and  see  what 
they  want  of  me." 

"All  right!"  remarked  the  corporal;  and  then  he 
added,  "Humbug,  boy!  Some  fellow's  been  fooling 
the  adjutant.     Come  along,  boys!  " 


70  THE    BATTLE   OF   NEW   YORK. 

"I'm  going,  too,"  said  Lilian,  "whether  they  want 
me  or  not.     Let's  go,  mother!" 

"We'll  all  go,"  said  Mrs.  Eedding;  but  she  and  the 
others  had  to  spend  a  minute  or  more  in  getting  ready, 
and  meantime  the  boys,  who  were  ready,  had  walked 
off  with  the  men  in  blue.  They  only  walked  as  far 
as  a  street-car ;  and  it  seemed  to  Barry  only  one  long, 
breathless  minute  before  he  and  Davis  were  in  a  large 
room  before  several  severe,  stern-looking  men  who 
wore  shoulder-straps. 

Their  first  question  came  to  him, 

"  Who  are  you?"  asked  an  officer. 

"Barry  Eedding.     Dave  boards  at  our  house " 

"Oh,  well!  you've  nothing  to  do  with  this."  Dave 
nodded  at  Barry,  but  he  was  at  once  busy  with  his 
own  questions  and  answers. 

A  man  at  a  table  was  busy  with  a  pen,  as  they 
asked  his  name  and  age  and  a  number  of  other  things ; 
and  Barry  heard  a  tall  officer  say  twice,  "  All  non- 
sense!" just  before  the  questioner  said  sharply: 

"You  came  North  to  see  your  mother?  How  did 
you  get  through  our  lines?" 

"I  walked  through,"  said  Dave — "crowd  of  refu- 
gees and  colored  people." 

"  V/hat  account  did  you  give  to  any  of  our  army 
officers?" 

"Didn't  have  to  give  any,"  said  Dave.     "Nobody 


THE   CONFEDERATE   SPY.  71 

asked  me.  Then  I  went  to  Washington  and  came 
here." 

There  was  a  rustle  at  the  door  at  that  moment,  and 
he  added,  "  There  are  my  mother  and  sister  now.  I 
hadn't  seen  them  for  a  year," 

"He  is  my  son,"  began  Mrs.  Eandolph;  and  Lil- 
ian's face  was  very  white  and  fierce,  while  Barry  and 
his  mother  were  evidently  trying  hard  not  to  speak. 

"Wait,  madam,"  said  the  questioner,  not  unkindly. 
"Wait  a  moment,  colonel.  Eandolph,  do  you  know 
where  General  Lee's  army  is  now?" 

"  Yes,  sir ;  he  is  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  on  his 
way  to  New  York." 

He  had  made  a  sensation  now,  and  even  the  colonel 
himself  asked  question  after  question,  until  at  last  he 
said: 

"You  are  not  a  soldier,  but  do  you  not  know  that 
you  are  hurting  your  own  side  by  telling  so  much?" 

"I  think  not,"  reiDlied  Davis.  "General  Lee  is 
marching  right  along.  I've  only  told  where  our 
forces  were  then.  They  are  not  in  the  same  places 
now.  He  isn't  the  kind  to  sit  still.  Our  people  say 
there's  enough  of  that  done  on  your  side." 

There  were  red  and  even  angry  faces  among  the 
officers,  and  Lilian  looked  triumphant ;  but  the  colonel 
was  calm. 

"Are  you  not  a  kind  of  spy?"  he  asked. 


72  THE    BATTLE    OF   NEW    YORK. 

"Well,  yes,"  said  Davis,  "if  there  was  anything 
here  worth  knowing;  but  General  Lee  isn't  near 
enough  yet  for  me  to  tell  him.  New  York  is  full  of 
people  that  would  like  to  tell  him  more  than  I  know." 

"Fact!"  exclaimed  the  colonel.  "My  boy,  do  you 
intend  returning  South?" 

"Some  day  or  other,"  said  Davis;  "when  my  visit 
is  over." 

"Could  you  get  back  through  our  lines?" 

"I  wouldn't  have  to,"  said  Davis.  "I'd  only  go 
and  board  in  some  place  that  General  Lee  was  going 
to  take." 

"I  never  saw  such  impudence  since  I  was  born!" 
roared  one  of  the  officers.  "Let  him  go,  colonel! 
How  can  we  keep  out  their  spies,  when  a  mere  saucy 
boy  can  walk  right  through  our  careless,  worthless 
picket-lines?" 

"Madam,"  said  the  colonel,  bowing  to  Mrs.  Ean- 
dolph,  "your  son  is  at  liberty.  He  is  a  plucky  young 
fellow,  but  he  is  too  rash  to  be  a  good  spy.  He  must 
be  more  careful  of  his  tongue.  Good-afternoon, 
ladies." 

"Thank  you,  major!"  said  Mrs.  Randolph,  and  they 
hurried  out. 

"Did  you  learn  anything?"  whispered  Lilian. 

"Not  much,  Lil;  but  the  colonel  said  to  the  one- 
armed  captain  that  there  were  not  men  enough  in  the 


THE   CONFEDERATE   SPY.  73 

forts  to  mount  guard  or  man  half  the  guns.  If  Gen- 
eral Lee  only  knew !" 

"Davis,"  said  his  mother,  "I  shall  not  hinder  your 
going.  You  must  do  your  duty.  Go  and  serve  your 
country!" 

"Of  course  he  must,  mother,"  said  Lilian;  "I  don't 
believe  any  one  else  can  do  what  he  can." 

She  was  proud  of  her  brother ;  but  at  that  very 
moment  Mrs.  Eedding  was  saying  seriously  to 
Barry : 

"  Yes,  he  is  a  brave  boy ;  but  I  wish  for  all  the  world 
he  was  in  Virginia !  So  bright  a  fellow  as  he  is  might 
do  mischief." 

In  the  office  they  had  left  in  the  Army  Headquarters 
Building  the  colonel  was  replying  to  the  major: 

"Spy?  Why,  so  he  is!  That  is,  he  would  be  if  he 
could.  I've  hardly  any  doubt  that  he  came  as  a  spy, 
but  we  couldn't  prove  it.  If  we  could,  what's  the 
use?  Lincoln  wouldn't  let  him  be  shot.  He  can't  do 
any  more  harm.     Let  him  go!" 

Some  hundreds  of  miles  south  of  where  they  were 
talking  there  was  a  very  different  scene.  A  rail-fenced 
road  came  over  the  brow  of  a  high-ridged  hill  that 
seemed  to  belong  to  a  long  range  of  blue,  smoky-topped 
mountains  reaching  southerly  into  the  distance.  In 
the  middle  of  the  road  a  group  of  dusty-uniformed 
horsemen  had   halted,   and   for  a  moment  they  all 


74  THE  BATTLE  OF  NEW  YORK. 

seemed  to  be  looking  northward  in  silence.  Then  one 
of  them  said : 

"There  is  the  Potomac,  General  Lee.  I  wish  I 
knew  whether  victory  or  defeat  for  us  lay  waiting- 
bey  ond  it." 

"There  is  but  one  victory  possible.  We  are  too 
few  for  any  other, "  answered  the  noble-looking  man 
he  spoke  to. 

"Where  is  it  to  be  won,  general?" 

"In  the  streets  of  New  York,"  replied  the  Confed- 
erate commander,  "The  war  power  of  the  Lincoln 
government  is  upheld  by  the  money  power.  The  heart 
of  that  is  not  in  Washington.  If  we  can  stop  the 
beating  of  it  in  New  York  City  for  thirty  days,  we 
shall  win  everywhere — for  the  Union  armies  will  break 
down  of  their  own  size  and  weight.  Grant  will  let 
go  at  Vicksburg.  Their  fleets  cannot  keep  the  seas. 
France  and  England  will  join  hands  with  us.  We 
need  only  one  victory  in  the  field.  After  that  New 
York  is  ours,  the  war  is  over,  and  the  Confederate 
triumph  is  secure.  But  there  is  an  army  beyond  that 
river,  gentlemen ;  and  the  hardest  battle  of  the  war 
is  right  before  us." 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE   MEANING   OF   THE   FLAG. 


'ILIAN  went  home  from  the  army  head- 
quarters in  a  triumphant  state  of  mind. 
j^^"^^  She  had  heard  her  brother  tell  the  Federal 
^^^,^1  officers  that  General  Lee  was  coming,  and 
W^  she  almost  felt  as  if  her  army,  or  General  Lee's, 
were  a  number  of  miles  nearer.  She  was  twice 
as  ready  for  the  proposed  drive  around  the  city,  and 
she  and  her  mother  waited  half-impatiently  while 
Davis  went  after  a  carriage.  If  she  could  have  adorned 
that  somewhat  stylish  turnout  when  it  came  with  her 
own  flag,  she  would  have  been  altogether  satisfied. 

Davis  remarked  that  it  was  a  part  of  his  scout  duty 
to  see  all  there  was  to  be  seen,  but  Mrs.  Randolph 
doubted  his  seeing  anything  of  value  to  the  Confeder- 
ate leaders.  They  had  not  been  in  motion  long,  how- 
ever, before  he  declared  that  he  had  seen  at  least  one 
thing. 

"What's  that?"  said  Mrs.  Randolph. 

"Why,"  said   Davis,   "so   many    men — crowds   of 

75 


76  THE   BATTLE   OF   NEW   YOEK. 

them — enough  to  make  armies !  You  don't  see  any- 
thing like  it  in  the  South." 

"I'm  afraid  that's  so,"  said  she  thoughtfully;  and 
after  that  there  was  a  silent  time,  until  Davis  sud- 
denly asked : 

"  Was  there  ever  any  real  fighting  done  right  here, 
where  the  city  is?" 

"Why,  Davis!"  said  his  mother ;  "don't  you  know? 
There  was  no  fighting  when  the  English  captured  it 
from  the  Dutch,  but  in  the  Revolutionary  War " 

"No  battles  here?"  said  Lilian,  when  her  mother 
paused,  as  if  trying  to  remember  something. 

"Well,"  said  Mrs.  Randolph,  "the  British  beat 
Washington's  army  in  the  battle  of  Long  Island. 
That  was  fought  in  Brooklyn.  Right  over  yonder, 
on  the  shore  of  Kip's  Bay,  there  v/as  another  fight. 
That  was  where  General  Washington  lost  his  hat. 
Over  there,  beyond  Central  Park,  there  was  another ; 
and  President  Monroe  was  in  it,  and  he  was  only  two 
years  older  than  you  are.  Away  up  at  Fort  Wash- 
ington was  the  hardest  fight  of  all,  and  we  were  beaten 
again." 

"Too  bad!"  said  Dave.  "Well,  there'll  be  some 
Virginia  troops  here  again  pretty  soon." 

"I  wish  they  were  here  now!"  exclaimed  Lilian. 
"But  oh,  what  a  city  it  is!  Dave,  this  is  the  first 
time  I've  seen  so  much  of  it." 


THE   MEANING    OF   THE    FLAG.  77 

"It  looks  like  a  big  thing  to  take,"  said  Davis;  "but 
our  boys  can  do  it." 

"Boys?"  said  his  mother.  "What  our  army  needs 
is  men." 

"Well,"  replied  Davis,  "Uncle  John  says  all  the 
boys  in  the  South  over  thirteen  are  of  full  age.  It's 
the  war  made  'em  so." 

If  he  was  a  fair  sample,  Uncle  John  was  right ;  for 
there  was  something  very  sober  and  manly  about  him, 
even  while  he  was  out  sight-seeing. 

As  for  Barry,  he  was  away  downtown  selling 
newspapers;  but  it  seemed  to  him  as  if  he  had  never 
before  done  so  much  thinking.  Besides  that,  as  he 
told  himself,  he  always  heard  everything.  He  had 
just  finished  a  brisk  run  of  evening-paper  business, 
and  was  standing  at  the  United  States  Sub-Treasury 
corner,  waiting  for  more  customers,  when  he  heard 
somebody  talking  behind  him. 

"No,  Hunker:  Lee  needn't  care  a  cent  for  the  forts 
around  the  harbor.  He  is  under  no  necessity  for  tak- 
ing them.  All  he  wants  is  the  city  itself.  That  will 
cut  off  the  Lincoln  government  from  its  cash-box." 

"But  the  ships  of  war,  Mr.  Mapleson,"  replied 
Hunker— "the  gunboats?  They  can  steam  along  the 
water-front  and  shell  out  any  troops  holding  the  city. 
General  Lee  can't  hold  New  York  against  them." 

"Nonsense,    Hunker!"    replied   Mapleson,    with   a 


78  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

glitter  in  his  cold  blue  eyes.  "  If  I  had  trooiDS  camped 
in  the  public  squares  and  up  and  down  Broadway, 
and  quartered  in  the  hotels  and  houses  and  churches, 
they  would  have  all  the  city  for  breastworks.  They 
could  not  be  shelled  out  without  destroying  the  town. 
I  could  hold  it  until  the  Lincoln  government  at  Wash- 
ington gave  up  the  fight." 

"That's  a  fact!"  exclaimed  Hunker.  "I  never 
thought  of  that." 

Barry  heard  it  all,  and  he  thought  about  it  so  deeply 
that  he  sold  a  man  a  World  for  a  Tribune,  and  called 
him  General  Brown  when  he  corrected  the  mistake. 

There  was  another  man  talking  at  that  moment, 
whom  Barry  could  not  hear,  although  it  would  have 
done  him  good.  Hundreds  of  miles  southward  and 
hundreds  of  miles  westward  of  the  Sub-Treasury  cor- 
ner a  short,  thick-set  man,  in  a  dingy  blue  suit  with 
two  dull-looking  gold  stars  on  each  shoulder,  stood 
near  the  stump  of  a  large  tree.  The  roots  of  the 
stump  had  been  cut  off,  so  that  it  could  be  tilted 
toward  one  side.  A  deep  hole  had  been  gouged  in 
the  face  of  the  stump.  Heavy  iron  bands  had  been 
driven  down  and  riveted  around  the  massive  wood. 
Men  with  telescopes  and  other  instruments  were  look- 
ing, measuring,  and  directing,  while  some  soldiers 
with  crowbars  carefully  tilted  the  stump  to  a  precise 
position. 


THE   MEANING   OF   THE   FLAG.  79 

In  all  directions,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  see,  there 
were  lines  of  earthworks.  Some  of  them  were 
mounted  with  cannon,  and  all  were  teeming  with 
men  in  uniform.  Here  and  there,  over  all  these  busy 
fortifications,  floated  the  banner  of  the  Union,  the 
Stars  and  Stripes. 

At  some  distance  westerly,  beyond  a  wide,  bare 
space,  ran  a  long,  low  hill ;  and  it  was  covered  with 
forts  and  lines  of  works.  Beyond  it  ran  a  broad, 
muddy  river.  Over  the  works  that  defended  the  hill 
floated  the  banner  of  the  Southern  Confederacy,  the 
Stars  and  Bars. 

All  the  air  was  gloomy  with  drifting  powder-smoke, 
and  there  was  hardly  any  cessation  in  the  roar  of 
heavy  guns — nearer  or  farther — and  the  very  sun 
seemed  to  look  down  hotly  and  angrily. 

"Fire!" 

A  puff  of  smoke,  a  sheet  of  red  flame,  sprang  from 
the  hollow  in  the  stump.  Then  followed  a  thunderous 
report,  and  something  almost  visible  was  hurled  high 
into  the  air,  in  a  vast  whirling  curve.  Up,  up,  up  it 
went,  and  away,  away,  until  it  ceased  rising  and 
came  down  with  a  hissing  plunge  into  the  middle  of 
the  Confederate  works. 

"That  will  do,"  said  the  starred  man,  as  he  watched 
the  throwing  of  the  bombshell  and  saw  that  it  burst 
on  falling. 


80  THE    BATTLE    OF   NEW   YORK. 

"  Well,  General  Grant !"  said  a  deep  voice  close  by 
him,  "  who  ever  heard  before  of  a  mortar  made  of  a 
hickory  stump?     I'm  afraid  it  won't  last  long." 

"It  won't  have  to  last  long,  Logan,"  said  Grant. 
"It'll  hold  together  till  Vicksburg  surrenders." 

Barry  did  not  hear  that,  or  he  would  have  received 
another  answer  to  his  great  question,  "What  is  war, 
anyhow?"  He  would  have  seen  that  war  will  some- 
times discover  what  a  man  like  Grant  or  an  old  hick- 
ory stump  is  good  for. 

Just  now  he  was  pretty  well  waked  up  by  the 
remarks  made  to  him  by  the  man  to  whom  he  had 
sold  the  wrong  paper.  He  was  trying  to  excuse  him- 
self, when  another  man  came  up,  saying : 

"  World  ?  That's  what  I  want.  Don't  you  try  to 
put  off  any  Tribune  on  me." 

Barry  reached  home  tired  out,  but  the  first  thing 
he  told  his  mother  was : 

"I  can  buy  a  new  suit  o'  clothes  in  a  week,  at  the 
rate  I'm  getting  ahead." 

"Take  two  weeks,"  she  said,  "and  get  a  real  good 
one.  I  want  you  to  look  as  nice  as  Davis  Eandolph 
does." 

"Well,"  said  Barry,  "you  mean  on  Sundays.  I 
guess  it  wouldn't  do  for  a  newsboy  to  rig  up  much. 
How  Kid  would  hoot  if  I  did — the  Shiner,  too!" 

Davis  was  indeed  looking  pretty  well  dressed,  but 


THE   MEANING   OF   THE    FLAG.  81 

Barry  was  keen  enough  to  see  that  that  was  by  no 
means  all.  He  had  such  easy  good  manners,  and  he 
was  so  cool  and  self-possessed.  There  was  hardly 
anything  "green"  about  him,  although  it  was  his  first 
visit  to  the  great  city.  Barry  had  lived  there  all  his 
life,  and  yet  he  had  a  strong  feeling  that  Dave  was 
teaching  him  something  new. 

"You  see,"  said  Barry  to  Lilian,  "he  has  been 
a  kind  of  soldier  already.  I'm  going  to  be  one,  sure's 
you  live!" 

"Dave'U  be  a  general,  or  at  least  a  colonel,"  said 
Lilian  proudly.  "He  is  fit  for  anything.  Mother 
says  it's  because  he  thinks.  I  wish  I  knew  how  to 
think." 

"That's  it,"  said  Barry;  "I've  been  thinking  a  good 
deal  to-day.  All  our  militia  regiments  have  gone  to 
fight  Lee's  army;  but  there's  lots  of  discharged  volun- 
teers, tip-top  soldiers,  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  them, 
all  around  the  city," 

"That's  what  Davis  said,"  replied  Lilian.  "He 
called  them  the  rear-guard  of  your  army,  and  he  said 
the  worst  of  it  was  that  they  were  all  veterans.  He 
said  General  Lee  probably  knew  all  about  them, 
though." 

"Well,  he'd  better  not  tell  him,"  said  Barry. 
"That  would  be  being  a  kind  of  spy." 

"What?"  exclaimed  Lilian  with  a  frightened  look. 


82  THE    BATTLE    OF   NEW    YORK. 

"You  couldn't  stop  him!  You  wouldn't!  0  Barry! 
you  wouldn't  go  and  have  Dave  arrested  agam?" 

"If  I  was  playing  spy  against  the  Confederacy," 
said  Barry,  "wouldn't  it  be  your  duty  and  Dave's 
to  stop  me?" 

"  Of  course  it  would, "  said  Lilian.  "  Oh,  well,  Barry 
— of  course;  but  we  wouldn't  let  them  hurt  you." 

"  I  wish  Dave  was  safe  down  South  again,  anyhow," 
said  Barry. 

After  supper  there  was  a  great  deal  of  talk  about 
the  war,  and  Barry  was  surprised  at  himself  to  find 
how  much  he  knew.  He  talked  about  the  forts  and 
the  gunboats  and  the  police,  and  the  disbanded  volun- 
teers, and  how  the  city  could  be  occupied,  and  how 
not,  until  even  his  mother  looked  at  him  and  said  to 
herself : 

"How  he  is  growing!" 

Dave  talked  about  the  Southern  army  as  freely  as 
Barry  did  about  the  city ;  but  he  was  in  one  of  his 
thoughtful  fits,  and  once  or  twice  he  actually  whistled. 

"How  old  Davis  is!"  exclaimed  Lilian,  after  she 
and  her  mother  went  to  their  room. 

"It's  the  war,"  said  Mrs.  Randolph.  "It's  a  hot- 
house. It's  a  furnace.  Oh,  how  I  wish  it  were 
ended !" 

The  entire  question  of  war  and  peace  had  to  be  put 
aside  until  the  next  morning.     Even  then  it  could  not 


THE    MEANING    OF    THE    FLAG.  S3 

be  discussed ;  for  the  Randolphs  were  to  go  out  riding 
again,  and  Barry  was  out  early  at  his  newspaper  busi- 
ness. He  actually  read  one  of  his  papers — the  news- 
telegraph  column — the  first  chance  he  had. 

"They  don't  know  where  General  Lee's  army  is," 
he  said.  "Well,  if  the  whole  Army  of  the  Potomac 
can't  find  him,  I  guess  Dave  couldn't.  Is  he  really, 
now,  any  kind  of  spy — dangerous  to  our  side?" 

However  that  might  be,  Davis  and  Lilian  and  their 
mother  had  a  double  errand  that  morning.  When 
they  came  back  from  their  drive  Dave  was  all  dressed 
in  army  blue.  He  looked  almost  like  a  boy-soldier  of 
the  Union  army.  He  looked  well  in  it,  too ;  but  Lil- 
ian remarked : 

"  Oh,  how  I  wish  it  were  butternut,  with  our  gold 
braid  on  the  sleeves!" 

Barry  was  not  to  come  home  at  noon,  and  his  mother 
saw  no  cause  of  remark  in  Davis  Randolj)h's  new  suit. 
Mrs.  Randolph,  however,  after  her  drive,  spent  a  long 
time  over  a  letter  to  Uncle  John  in  Virginia,  or  in  the 
army,  just  as  if  she  expected  him  to  get  it.  Toward 
the  middle  of  the  afternoon  Davis  picked  up  his  hat 
and  turned  his  head  a  little  away  from  his  mother,  as 
he  said  quietly : 

"Nobody  must  know  but  what  I'm  coming  right 
back  agrin — not  even  Barry  nor  Dinah  Lee — until  I'm 
too  far  away  for  anybody  to  stop  me." 


84  THE   BATTLE    OF    NEW   YORK. 

"Do  your  duty,  my  son,"  said  Mrs.  Eandolph,  try- 
ing to  look  brave  and  firm. 

"O  Dave!"  whispered  Lilian,  as  she  hung  around 
his  neck,  "be  careful!  Don't  let  them  catch  you! 
Don't  run  any  risks!" 

All  he  seemed  able  to  say  was,  "Good-by!"  but 
when  he  reached  Wall  Street,  and  walked  into  the 
elegant  office  of  Vernon  &  Co, ,  he  bowed  to  Mr.  Simp- 
son in  the  most  polite  and  smiling  manner. 

He  went  on  into  the  back  room  at  once,  and  he  was 
shut  up  there  for  some  time  with  Mr.  Vernon.  That 
gentleman  was  not  talking,  however.  He  was  writ- 
ing something  in  the  letter  from  Mrs.  Eandolph  to 
Uncle  John.  He  wrote  slowly,  carefully,  between  the 
lines  she  had  made ;  and  the  curious  part  of  it  was 
that  his  pen  seemed  not  to  leave  any  ink-marks 
behind  it. 

"  There !"  he  said,  when  it  was  finished ;  "  hand  that 
to  General  Lee  and  say  'flat-iron.'  He  will  know 
what  to  do  with  it." 

"If  he  doesn't,  I  can  tell  him,"  said  Davis.  "But 
if  it's  found  on  me  I'll  be  shot." 

"I  think  so,"  said  Mr.  Vernon.  "I'm  told  that 
they  do  not  refer  such  cases  to  President  Lincoln  any 
more.  He  is  too  kind-hearted.  Bless  him  for  that! 
It's  all  over  before  he  hears  of  it.  There  isn't  really 
much  to  be  said  against  Lincoln  by  our  folks." 


THE   MEANING   OF   THE   FLAG.  85 

"He's  a  tyrant!"  exclaimed  Dave.  "If  it  wasn't 
for  him  the  North  would  give  up." 

"Of  course  it  would,"  replied  the  banker,  "but  that 
shows  what  a  man  he  is.  You  are  old  enough  to  see 
that  if  one  man  holds  up  a  whole  nation  he's  a  pretty 
strong  man." 

"  We  shall  beat  him !"  said  Davis. 

"I  believe  so,"  said  the  banker  gravely.  "I  am 
doing  all  I  can,  at  as  much  risk  as  if  I  were  all  the 
while  in  battle  and  under  fire." 

"That's  so!"  said  Dave;  and  in  another  minute  he 
had  received  his  last  instructions,  more  greenbacks, 
a  hearty  hand-shake,  and  then  he  was  out  in  the 
street. 

"Now  for  General  Lee's  headquarters!"  he  said  to 
himself,  in  a  suppressed  whisper. 

"Hurrah  for  the  Sunny  South!  How  I  would  like 
to  march  into  New  York  with  him !  Wouldn't  Lilian 
swing  her  flag?" 

All  over  the  great  city  the  Union  flags  were  float- 
ing. They  were  carried  proudly  by  the  tall  masts  of 
ships  in  the  harbor;  they  fluttered  in  the  sea-breeze 
that  swept  over  the  frowning  stonework  of  the  guard- 
ian forts.  One  pair  of  busy  eyes  had  been  almost 
counting  them  that  day,  and  now  that  Barry  had  sold 
the  last  of  a  heavy  batch  of  papers,  he  stood  with  his 
hands  in  his  pockets  looking  seaward.     His  wander- 


86  THE    BATTLE   OF   NEW   YORK. 

ing  trade  had  carried  him  to  the  Battery,  at  the  har- 
bor end  of  the  city ;  and  from  that  spot  he  could  get 
a  better  view  of  things,  both  afloat  and  ashore. 

"Flags,  flags,  flags  everywhere!"  he  said.  "What's 
the  use  of  a  flag?  What  made  them  strijDe  it  and  put 
on  so  many  stars?     What's  war,  anyhow?" 

"Don't  you  know  what  we  soldiers  call  that  flag, 
my  boy?"  asked  a  weak  but  cheerful  voice  near  him. 
He  turned  around,  and  there  stood  a  tall  man,  who 
must  once  have  been  very  broad-shouldered  and  strong, 
but  who  was  now  thin,  white-faced,  emaciated,  so 
that  his  flowing  black  beard  and  brilliant  black  eyes 
gave  him  a  look  that  startled  Barry.  He  wore  the 
uniform  and  straps  of  a  captain. 

"Guess  you  ought  to  be  in  hospital,"  exclaimed 
Barry. 

"I've  just  come  out  of  one,"  said  the  captain.  "I 
wanted  to  take  a  last  look  at  the  bay  and  the  flag." 

"Going  back  again,  then?"  asked  Barry.  "Been 
wounded  in  battle?     Getting  well  pretty  fast?" 

He  felt  that  something  about  that  man  was  making 
him  feel  excited.  It  was  almost  as  if  the  war  itself 
were  talking  to  him. 

"  Yes, "  said  the  captain.  "  I  was  wounded  in  battle. 
Shot  through  the  lungs.  No,  I'm  not  to  get  well. 
The  surgeon  says  I  am  to  die  to-morrow  pretty  cer- 
tainly, but  I  can  walk.     The  bay  is  beautiful,  but  it 


The  ivounded  captain  fells  Barry  of  the  flag. 


THE   MEANING   OF   THE   FLAG.  87 

isn't  so  beautiful  as  the  flag  is.  Don't  you  know 
what  the  flag  means?" 

"No,"  said  Barry  bluntly,  "nor  the  war,  either. 
My  father's  in  the  army,  though;  and  I'd  go  if  I 
were  old  enough." 

"Of  course,"  said  the  captain.  "That  flag  is  worth 
dying  for.  I'll  tell  you.  The  thirteen  stripes  stand 
for  the  thirteen  States  at  the  beginning,  and  for  all 
the  States  in  union.  The  stars  are  one  for  each 
State,  and  they  must  never  set  nor  go  out.  The  blue 
they  are  on  in  the  flag  means  the  heaven  that  is  over 
them,  and  we  boys  in  the  army  call  this  God's  coun- 
try. The  white  means  justice  and  pure  government. 
The  red  stands  for  honor  and  for  the  blood  the  Union 
has  cost,  and  for  the  blood  that  was  shed  for  us  all. 
We  call  that  flag  Old  Glory,  my  boy." 

Barry  stared  at  him,  as  his  black,  shining  eyes  wan- 
dered from  point  to  point  where  the  starry  flags  were 
flying.  He  tried  to  understand,  and  it  seemed  as  if 
a  new  idea  was  slowly  coming  to  him ;  but  he  sud- 
denly asked : 

"Can  General  Lee  take  New  York?" 

"He  may  get  here.  His  army  may,"  said  the  cap- 
tain. "Just  as  an  iceberg  gets  to  the  Southern  Sea, 
only  to  melt  away  there.  I  shall  die,  but  Old  Glory 
will  float  over  the  city  I  was  born  in  to  the  end  of 
time !" 


88  THE    BATTLE   OF   NEW    YORK. 

"Oh,  do  go  home !"  exclaimed  Barry.  "Go  to  the 
hospital,  and  do  get  well !" 

"I'm  going,"  said  the  captain;  "but,  my  boy,  it's 
worth  any  man's  while  to  give  his  life  for  that  flag." 

He,  too,  must  have  been  excited,  for  he  strode  away 
erect  and  firmly;  and  Barry  looked  after  him,  ex- 
claiming : 

"I  hope  he'll  get  well.  He's  a  siDlendid  fellow! 
I'm  glad  I  know  what  the  flag  means.  Yes,  sir!  I 
want  to  be  a  volunteer  and  do  something." 

There  did  not  ceem  to  be  anything  whatever  for  him 
to  do  just  then  in  the  service  of  his  country  and  his 
flag.  All  he  could  do  was  to  sell  newspapers  and  help 
his  mother.  He  had  never  before  felt  so  proud  of 
having  a  soldier  father,  however,  as  at  the  moment 
when  he  turned  away  from  the  Battery,  remarking  to 
himself : 

"Well,  Dave  can't  do  anything,  either." 

Dave  did  not  seem  to  be  trying  to  do  anything,  but 
it  might  have  surprised  Barry  to  have  seen  where  he 
was,  and  how  entirely  easy  he  was  taking  things.  He 
appeared  to  be  taking  a  nap,  curled  up  in  a  corner  of 
a  seat  in  a  railway  car  on  its  way  from  New  York  to 
Philadelphia.  He  was  not  alone,  for  the  next  seat 
forward  was  turned  over,  so  that  three  elderly  gentle- 
men, whose  uniforms  were  covered  by  linen  dusters, 
could  sit  facing  each  other  and  discuss  the  military 


THE    MEANING    OF    THE    FLAG.  89 

situation.  They  did  not  disturb  Davis,  but  they  talked 
very  freely  about  army  corps,  and  their  numbers  and 
their  commanders,  and  where  they  then  were,  and 
where  they  were  to  go  next.  They  seemed  not  to 
know  so  much  about  the  movements  of  General  Lee. 
What  did  they  care  for  a  sleepy  boy  not  more  than 
fifteen  years  old?  No  Confederate  spy  could  possibly 
report  anything  that  they  were  saying.  Only  an  army 
man  could  really  understand  their  conversation,  any- 
how. 

Nevertheless,  when  the  train  rolled  into  the  depot 
at  Philadelphia  that  boy  picked  up  a  small  satchel  and 
got  out,  and  he  said  to  himself : 

"No,  I  mustn't  write  it  down.  I  can  remember 
every  word  of  it.  One  of  them  was  Lincoln's  Assistant 
Secretary  of  War ;  one  of  them  is  to  command  an 
army  corps,  and  the  other  is  to  command  at  Harris- 
burg.  I've  a  tremendous  report  to  make  to  General 
Lee." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

DODGING  AN   ARMY. 

f^  T  seemed  as  if  the  days  of  June,  in  the  year 

1863,   grew  hotter  and  hotter,  one  after 

the  other.     It  was  not,  perhaps,  so  much 

the  weather  outside  of  j)eople  as  it  was  the 

excitement  inside  of  them.      More  than    one 

hot  day  went  by  before  Barry  seemed  to  forget 

himself  and  suddenly  exclaimed  to  Mrs.  Eandolph  and 

Lilian : 

"I  just  wonder  what  has  become  of  Dave!" 
"Barry!"  said  Lilian,  warningly. 
" Oh,  no!"  he  said.     " I  didn't  mean  to  ask.    I  don't 
want  you  to  tell  me  where  he  went.     I  only  hope  he's 
safe — that's  all." 

They  did  not  say  anything,  but  they  both  looked  at 
him  gratefully.  They  could  not  have  told  him  if  they 
had  wished  to  do  so  ever  so  much.  Neither  could 
Davis  himself,  for  the  very  question  that  was  perplex- 
ing him  was : 

"Where  on  earth  am  I?" 

To  be  sure,  he  seemed  to  be  in  as  cool  and  shady  a 

90 


DODGING   AN   ARMY.  01 

place  as  any  boy  could  have  found  to  spend  the  last 
sultry  hours  of  such  a  day  as  that.  He  sat  upon  a 
large  stone,  with  his  feet  upon  two  other  stones,  to 
keep  them  out  of  a  small  stream  of  water  that 
gurgled  past  him.  Over  his  head,  not  very  far,  was 
a  long  arch  of  rude  but  massive  masonry;  and  he 
must  at  least  have  known  that  he  was  under  a  bridge. 

"I've  had  to  scoot  around  so,"  he  said,  "ever  since 
I  left  the  railroad.  I  didn't  dare  to  ask  anybody  in 
the  village,  but  I'm  glad  I  sav/  the  head  of  that  cav- 
alry column  in  time.     Hullo!  there  they  come!" 

There  was  a  clatter  of  hoofs  on  a  hard  road  and 
then  right  over  his  head,  and  he  heard  a  shout : 

"Orderly!  they'll  have  to  water  the  horses  above 
or  below.  The  banks  are  too  steep  right  here — 
reg'lar  cut!" 

"Glad  of  that!"  muttered  Davis.  "If  they  could 
get  down  to  the  creek  they'd  be  pretty  sure  to  find 
me.     There!  that's  artillery.     What  a  rumble!" 

There  was  no  danger  that  the  bridge  would  break 
down,  even  under  the  weight  of  cannon ;  but  if  Davis 
was  a  spy  he  was  learning  something. 

"Don't  I  wish  I  dared  go  out,"  he  said,  "and  get  a 
better  look  at  them!  I  can't  stay  here  long,  anyhow. 
Why,  I'm  right  in  among  the  Federal  troops,  and 
how  I'm  to  get  out  I  don't  know.  What  would 
mother  and  Lilian  say  to  this?" 


92  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

It  was  just  as  well  that  they  did  not  know  anything 
at  all  about  his  cool,  shadowy  hiding-place,  nor  about 
the  seemingly  endless  march,  march,  march  of  dusty 
riflemen  over  his  head.  If  they  had  been  watching 
him,  however,  they  might  have  admired  his  patience. 
He  sat  very  still  and  did  not  even  talk  to  himself,  ex- 
cept once,  when  he  remarked  that  there  were  fish  in 
the  water,  and  wished  that  he  had  some  broiled  trout, 
or  almost  anything  else  for  supper, 

"I  shan't  be  thirsty,  anyhow,"  he  added;  "and  it's 
getting  dark.     I  can  take  a  look  outside  pretty  soon." 

His  mother  and  sister  were  at  that  hour  busy  over 
some  newspapers  that  Barry  had  brought  home ;  and 
so,  in  another  room,  was  he.  He  had  sj)read  one  out 
uix)n  a  table,  and  was  studying  it  diligently. 

"Biggest  kind  of  war-map!"  he  remarked.  "It's 
the  very  country  Dave's  got  to  pick  his  way  through 
— all  about  the  Potomac  and  the  mountains,  away  up 
to  Pennsylvania.  Wonder  if  he'll  have  to  foot  it  all 
the  way?  He'll  run  against  some  of  our  men  if  he 
does.     What  will  they  do  to  him  if  they  catch  him?" 

That  was  a  question  which  Lilian  and  her  mother 
had  asked  of  themselves  often  enough,  but  which  they 
had  tried  not  to  ask  of  each  other.  It  was  in  Dave's 
own  mind,  too,  when  at  last  he  crept  out  from  under 
the  bridge. 

The  steep  banks  on  either  side  of  the  creek  were 


DODGING   AN   ARIHY,  93 

bushy  at  their  edges.  There  were  signs  that  at  some 
seasons  of  the  year  it  might  be  a  pretty  deep  and  rapid 
stream,  however  much  it  might  shrink  in  midsummer. 
"What!"  he  whispered,  as  he  clambered  up  and 
peered  through  a  bush ;  "guard  on  the  bridge?  I'll 
have  to  go  down  again  and  wade  across.     Glad  I  can 


swim 


I" 


Down  he  crept  and  under  the  bridge,  and  in  a  few 
moments  more  he  was  wading  cautiously  close  to  the 
stonework,  feeling  his  way  with  his  bare  feet ;  while 
the  sentinel  on  the  bridge  above  strolled  up  and  down, 
or  paused  to  exchange  the  countersign  with  officers 
and  men  who  came  and  went. 

"Glad  I  know  that,"  said  Dave  to  himself,  "I  can 
say  'New  Orleans'  and  'Eichmond, '  if  I'm  halted 
anywhere." 

In  a  minute  more  he  was  glad  again,  for  the  sentinel 
came  to  the  parapet  of  the  bridge  and  peered  over. 
"Good  thing  for  me,"  thought  Dave,  "that  the  moon- 
light shines  on  the  other  side  of  the  bridge  and  it's 
awful  dark  down  here." 

But  for  that  he  might,  indeed,  have  been  seen ;  and 
even  as  it  was,  the  evening  seemed  to  grow  a  little  chilly 
until  the  sentinel  moved  away  again.  Then  there 
was  more  wading — very  slow,  very  cautious ;  but  the 
worst  trial  of  all  came  when  the  bank  was  reached, 
for  it  was  all  one  glimmer  of  moonlight. 


94  THE    BATTLE   OF   NEW   YORK. 

"He'll  see  me,  sure's  you  live!"  whispered  poor 
Dave ;  but  there  came  a  sharp  clatter  of  hoofs  on  the 
road,  and  it  halted  on  the  bridge. 

"Now's  my  time!"  he  said,  as  he  darted  forward. 
"  While  they're  talking.     Up  I  go!     Last  chance!" 

Up  he  went,  and  crawled  in  among  the  bushes, 
while  one  horseman  on  the  bridge  shouted  to  another : 

"  We'll  get  him !  He  was  seen  in  the  village.  It's 
a  bad  time  for  spies !" 

"That  means  me,  I  suppose,"  said  Davis.  "What 
made  them  think  I  was  a  spy?  Reckon  it  was  because 
I  got  away  so  fast  when  they  were  coming,  I'll  go 
right  up  that  hill.  Cavalry  couldn't  climb  it,  but  I 
can — soon  as  I  get  my  shoes  on." 

They  were  on  quickly  enough ;  and  then  he  speedily 
discovered  what  slow,  hard  work  it  is  to  pick  one's 
way  through  woods  and  underbrush  and  among  scat- 
tered rocks,  with  only  now  and  then  a  little  moonshine 
to  go  by. 

"There!"  he  exclaimed  at  last ;  "this  is  the  tough- 
est, rockiest  place  I've  found.  I'll  lie  down  under 
these  sumach  bushes  and  sleep.     Oh,  how  tired  I  am !" 

So  he  slept,  surrounded  by  the  tired  thousands  of  a 
sleeping  army ;  while  whoever  was  hunting  for  him 
had  to  give  it  up  for  that  night. 

It  was  the  other  way  with  some  of  the  people  in 
Mrs.  Redding's  house.      There  was  no  wonder  that 


DODGING   AN   AEIVIY.  95 

neither  Lilian  nor  her  mother  could  shut  their  eyes 
for  long  hours  after  the  dull,  hot  day  departed.  Per- 
haps Mrs.  Eeddhig  also  had  good  reasons  for  anxiety, 
in  spite  of  her  victory  over  Mr.  Hunker;  but  for  once 
Barry  himself  found  that  he  was  not  sleepy.  Even  if 
he  shut  his  eyes  he  seemed  to  see  that  spidery  war- 
map,  and  to  hunt  all  over  it  for  armies  and  battle- 
fields. 

"Father's  there  somewhere,"  came  to  him  again 
and  again.  "  Dave  is  there.  There's  a  great  battle 
coming.     Don't  I  wish  I  were  a  man!" 

He  did  sleep  at  last,  but  he  awoke  very  early ;  and 
his  first  remark  was : 

"I  know  how  folks  feel  when  they  want  to  see  a 
newspaper.  They  can't  rest  till  they  know  what's 
been  done  since  they  went  to  bed." 

Earlier  still  there  had  been  a  stir  under  some  sumach 
bushes  on  a  rugged  hillside  in  upper  Maryland. 

Slowly,  cautiously  a  head  with  a  straw  hat  on  it 
came  out  through  the  thick  branches,  and  then  a  boy 
followed. 

"Toughest  day's  scouting  ever  I  had!"  exclaimed 
Dave.  "  I  don't  see  how  on  earth  I'm  to  get  through. 
I'll  pick  my  way  up  along  that  creek,  and  keep  in  the 
woods." 

An  hour  later  he  seemed  to  feel  better,  for  he  lay 
in  the  hay-loft  of  a  barn  and  remarked  of  it : 


96  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

"Safest  kind  of  place!  Only  hay  enough  left  to 
cover  me.  I'll  lie  right  here  till  that  column  gets 
away  past.     Then  I'll  try  again." 

He  was  peering  through  a  knot-hole  at  that  moment. 
It  was  a  very  small  hole,  but  even  if  it  had  been 
smaller  he  could  just  as  well  have  seen  what  a  splendid 
body  of  infantry,  all  in  blue,  was  swinging  along  the 
road. 

"They're  going  to  meet  Lee,"  he  said;  "and  that 
means  that  they  know  he  is  coming." 

All  that  day  Barry  sold  newspapers  as  industriously 
as  ever.  He  seemed  to  have  caught  the  knack  of  it, 
and  either  he  had  learned  how  to  shout  or  his  voice 
was  really  improving.  Kid  and  the  Shiner  noticed  it, 
and  they  told  him  so,  very  encouragingly.  He  did 
not  seem  to  care  so  much  about  that,  but  he  almost 
astonished  them  by  the  energy  with  which  he  declared 
how  sick  he  was  of  being  a  newsboy  instead  of  a  vol- 
unteer, and  how  tremendously  he  wished  that  he  were 
in  the  army. 

"I  almost  feel  as  if  I  were  getting  ready  to  go,"  he 
said  to  Kid.     "I  wish  I  could  be  drafted." 

"Well,"  said  Kid,  "nobody's  going  to  stand  the 
draft.     It  can't  be  done." 

"I've  heard  'em  say  they'd  fight  first,"  remarked 
the  Shiner. 

"We  could  sell  loads  o'  papers  next  morning,   if 


DODGING   AN    ARMY.  97 

they  did,"  replied  Kid.  "  It'd  be  better  than  a  vict'ry 
on  the  P'tomick." 

"I  shan't  sell  any  to-morrow,"  said  Barry.  "It'll 
be  Sunday,  and  I'm  going  to  go  to  church." 

"Guess  you  won't  go  in  that  rig,"  was  Kid's  com- 
ment ;  and  he  was  right,  for  when  Barry  went  home 
he  carried  a  bundle  with  him,  about  which  he  seemed 
to  feel  very  serious. 

"They  fit  me  loose,"  he  said,  "but  I'll  try  'em  on 
again  soon's  mother's  seen  'em.  'Twon't  be  long 
before  I  can  pay  her  back  for  them," 

He  went  to  her  room  at  once  on  reaching  home. 

"Barry!"  she  exclaimed,  as  he  came  in,  "a  letter 
from  your  father!  There's  a  great  battle  coming. 
0  Barry,  Barry There  she  stopped. 

"Don't  worry,  mother!"  said  Barry.  "I  don't  be- 
lieve he'll  get  hit.  He  has  been  in  more  than  twenty 
battles  already.  Don't  I  wish  I  were  with  him! 
Shouldn't  wonder  if  Dave'll  be  there,  on  his  side.  He 
can  shoot.     We  ought  not  to  have  let  him  get  away." 

"We  did  right,"  she  said.  "I'll  tell  his  mother  the 
news.  It  isn't  likely  he'll  be  in  the  battle,  though — 
a  mere  boy  like  him !" 

It  was  only  a  few  minutes  before  Mrs.  Eedding  and 
Mrs.  Eandolph  were  talking  the  matter  over,  very 
much  as  if  they  were  on  the  same  side.  There  was, 
however,  a  sharp  skirmish  between  Barry  and  Lilian 


98  THE    BATTLE    OF   NEW   YORK. 

over  the  battle  prospect,  until  something  he  said  about 
Dave  brought  on  a  truce,  which  they  both  promised  to 
keep  until  church-time  next  morning.  Little  they 
imagined  how  many  things  had  been  seen  during  all 
the  earlier  part  of  the  day  through  a  knot-hole  in  the 
side  of  an  old  Maryland  barn.  Davis  himself  wearied 
of  watching  the  endless  tide  of  riflemen  go  by.  Be- 
sides, he  could  not  help  considering  how  much  those 
sturdy-looking  veterans  might  have  to  say  or  do  about 
the  northward  march  of  the  Confederate  army,  which 
was  on  its  way  to  capture  New  York. 

"There!"  he  said  at  last,  "the  rear-guard  is  out  of 
sight.  I'll  creep  out  now  and  take  to  the  woods  again. 
I  must  get  ahead  as  fast  as  I  can,  if  I'm  ever  to  deliver 
these  things  to  General  Lee." 

He  drew  a  long  breath  as  he  went  out  from  the 
shelter  of  the  barn.  The  house  it  belonged  to  was  at 
some  distance,  and  he  got  away  without  being  seen. 

There  was  a  wide  stubble-field  to  cross,  and  then  a 
corn-field  to  creep  through;  and  then  he  found  him- 
self in  a  somewhat  thistle-grown  pasture-lot. 

"Cows!"  he  exclaimed.  "Tip-top!  I  found  plenty 
of  eggs  in  the  barn,  and  now  I'll  have  some  milk.  If 
that  farmer  is  on  our  side,  he'd  let  me  have  it  and 
welcome.  If  he  is  on  the  other  side,  I've  a  perfect 
right  to  capture  milk  and  eggs  from  the  enemy." 

He  could  not  help  laughing  about  it,  but  he  was 


DODGING   AN    ARMY.  99 

only  doing  as  any  other  invading  army  would  have 
done  when  he  convinced  a  matronly-looking  cow  that 
he  could  milk  her  very  well  into  a  tin  cup  that  he 
took  out  of  his  satchel. 

"Now  for  the  woods,"  he  shouted,  "and  won't  I 
travel! " 

He  had  had  a  long  rest  in  his  hay-mow  hiding-place, 
and  he  certainly  proved  himself  a  good  walker ;  but 
again  and  again  he  came  to  open  places  between 
patches  of  woodland,  and  again  and  again  he  saw 
moving  columns  of  Federal  troops — infantry,  cavalry, 
and  artillery. 

"  Biggest  Saturday  afternoon  ever  I  had !  "  he  said 
to  himself  just  before  sunset.  "  But  now  I'm  hemmed 
in  again — Yankees  all  around  me.  I'll  try  and  get  as 
far  as  I  can  by  night.  I  can  keep  away  from  camp- 
fires  easy  enough.  All  I'm  afraid  of  is  their  pickets 
and  scouting  parties.  Wonder  if  any  of  our  men  have 
crossed  over  into  Maryland?" 

That  was  a  question  nobody  could  settle  for  him 
that  night,  but  he  pushed  on  until  not  only  darkness, 
but  weariness  compelled  him  to  find  another  thicket 
and  go  to  sleep.  The  one  he  found  was  in  a  very 
deep  hollow — a  ravine  without  any  water  running 
through  it,  and  so  very  rocky  and  ragged  that  nothing 
but  a  woodchuck  or  a  boy  who  wanted  to  hide  would 
have  thought  of  making  a  bedroom  of  it. 


100  THE   BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Very  early  on  Sunday  morning  Barry  Redding  stood 
in  front  of  his  looking-glass,  and  he  was  staring  in- 
tently at  something  that  was  reflected  in  it. 

"I  don't  know  what  on  earth  they'll  say,"  he  re- 
marked. "It's  the  best  suit  of  clothes  I  ever  had  on, 
but  then! — if  the  others  were  too  small,  how  much 
have  I  got  to  grow  before  these'll  fit?" 

That  was  a  problem,  but  Dave  was  even  more  in- 
tensely considering  a  very  different  question.  He 
had  overslept,  because  it  was  so  late  when  he  lay 
down;  and  he  had  been  awakened  by  a  racket  that 
astonished  him. 

"What  a  rattle!"  he  suddenly  exclaimed.  "Skir- 
mish? Why,  the  balls  are  cutting  the  trees  right  along 
the  hollow!     It  won't  do  for  me  to  stir." 

Boom,  boom,  boom!  came  another  sound,  and  no- 
body needed  telling  that  it  was  the  voice  of  field  artil- 
lery; but  Dave  waited  and  listened  in  vain  for  any 
response  from  the  other  side  of  the  hollow. 

"If  it  was  our  men,  they  have  retreated,"  he  said 
to  himself.  "  Don't  I  wish  I  dared  go  up  and  see  what 
kind  of  a  fight  it  was?" 

Again  the  cannon  boomed ;  and  now  he  could  hear 
the  explosion  of  shells,  and  felt  even  more  like  lying 
still  among  his  rocks. 

What  he  did  not  hear,  however,  were  the  angry 
remarks  made  by  a  bronzed  gentleman  in  a  dreadfully 


DODGING   AN   ARMY.  101 

dingy  Union  uniform  to  another  gentleman  with  a 
clear  and  fresh  complexion  and  in  an  exceedingly 
elegant,  new,  and  nicely  fitting  suit,  bright  buttons, 
and  glistening  shoulder-straps. 

"No  apology,  sir!"  he  said  in  conclusion.  "No 
explanations  needed!  It's  out-and-out  militia  work ! 
Greenhorns !  Blazing  away  half  a  ton  of  ammunition 
into  a  neck  of  woods,  without  an  enemy  nearer  than 
Harper's  Ferry!" 

With  that  he  wheeled  away,  and  even  the  horse  he 
was  riding  threw  up  his  heels  as  if  in  contempt  of  that 
kind  of  war ;  for  the  officer  in  command  of  the  militia 
had  fired  without  orders,  and  without  much  more  than 
an  excited  suspicion  that  there  were  enemies  lurkins- 
in  the  forest  beyond  Dave's  ravine. 

"What  if  a  shell  had  tumbled  down  here?"  thought 
Davis.  "It  would  have  taken  me  for  a  spy,  and 
shelled  me  out.  Guess  I'd  better  keep  still;  but  if 
our  men  are  there,  don't  I  v/ish  I  could  join  them!" 

He  did  not  even  know  that  they  were  not  there ; 
and  he  finally  crept  from  bush  to  bush  and  rock  to 
rock,  like  a  young  Indian,  before  he  reached  a  spot 
from  which  he  dared  to  look  out  and  discover  that  the 
valiant  militia  that  had  manufactured  that  one-sided 
skirmish  had  marched  away— uniforms,  guns,  and 
all.  What  would  Barry  have  thought  if  he  could 
then  have  heard  Dave  exclaim : 


102  THE    BATTLE    OF   NEW    YORK. 

"This  is  the  dullest  kind  of  work!  I  want  to  get 
through  to  General  Lee!" 

How  could  there  be  anything  dull  in  dodging  a 
whole  army,  and  in  being  fired  over  by  a  battery  of 
artillery  and  a  regiment  of  militia? 

Dave  said  that  it  was ;  and  then  he  went  into  the 
very  woods  that  had  been  fired  at,  and  pushed  on  in 
a  harassing,  disappointing  search  for  the  Confederate 
part  of  all  that  firing.  It  had  not  been  there.  Noth- 
ing had  been  there  but  an  unaccountable  rej)ort,  made 
by  a  militia  scouting  party,  that  they  had  discovered 
more  or  less  of  Lee's  or  somebody's  army  in  ambush. 
Nevertheless,  Davis  felt  sure  that  no  Federal  troops 
could  be  there,  and  so  he  could  go  ahead  without 
danger  of  immediate  interruption. 

"Sunday?"  he  said  to  himself.  "Mother  and  Lil- 
ian will  be  at  church,  but  I  wish  I  were  at  General 
Lee's  headquarters.  At  this  rate  I  shan't  get  there 
before  the  end  of  the  week." 


CHAPTER  VITI. 

REPORTING  TO   GENERAL  LEE. 

^  HE  truce  between  Barry  and  Lilian  had  been 
made  with  reference  to  politics  and  army- 
matters.  It  did  not  include  new  clothes, 
and  Barry  was  aware  of  it.  Besides,  it 
was  Sunday  morning  and  nearly  church-time, 
and  Lilian  managed  to  keep  the  peace  only 
until  then.  Barry  stood  for  a  full  minute  looking 
longingly  at  his  old  suit  lying  on  a  chair.  As  much 
of  him  as  could  get  into  that  suit  had  been  very 
much  at  home  there.  Much  more  of  him  was  now 
stylishly  covered  up,  but  not  comfortably — consider- 
ing the  fact  that  it  was  now  time  to  go  downstairs. 
.  Down  he  went,  and  he  marched  boldly  into  the  par- 
lor, where  the  others  were  already  assembled.  The 
very  first  glances  that  came  at  him  caused  him  to 
inquire : 

"Is  it  so  very  loose,  mother?" 

"Why,   Barry,"  she  said,   "it  is  pretty  loose;  but 
then  it's  such  very  warm  weather!" 

No  other  criticisms  were  made  aloud,  but  he  felt 

103 


104  THE    BATTLE   OF   NEW    YORK. 

absolutely  sure  from  something  in  Lilian's  face  that 
she  was  thinking  about  his  new  suit.  She  was  almost 
silent  while  they  were  walking  along  toward  church ; 
but  at  length  she  said  suddenly : 

"You  are  all  in  blue.  Almost  everyone  we've  met 
wears  blue.  Your  suit  is  just  like  Dave's,  too.  I'm 
tired  of  it.  I  wish  I  could  see  some  ranks  of  men 
in  Southern  gray  or  butternut.  It  won't  be  long, 
though,  before  I  shall." 

"Yes,  it  will,"  said  Barry,  positively. 

Neither  of  them  said  anything  more  all  the  remain- 
der of  the  way,  nor  even  when  they  reached  the 
church  and  went  into  Mrs.  Bedding's  pew.  It  was  a 
large,  noble-looking  church,  and  it  was  filling  rapidly. 
Lilian  and  her  mother  hardly  looked  around  them 
when  they  went  in ;  but  Barry  did,  and  he  at  once 
forgot  all  about  the  fit  of  his  new  blue  suit. 

Over  the  puljDit  were  crossed  two  great  banners,  the 
Stars  and  Stripes,  half  furled  and  hung  with  crape. 

The  moment  Lilian  lifted  her  head  she  turned  and 
said  to  Barry:     "Flags  here?     What  for?" 

" 'Sh,  Lilian!"  whispered  back  Barry.  "It's  a 
funeral  service  for  the  members  of  the  church  who 
fell  in  battle.  Don't  you  see?  Those  front  pews  are 
full  of  returned  volunteers." 

"It's  right!"  was  what  Mrs.  Randolph  was  saying 
to  herself. 


REPORTING   TO    GENERAL   LEE.  105 

"Yes,"  said  Lilian  to  Barry,  "but  hear  that  grand 
organ!     It  almost  speaks." 

Barry  was  silent.  He  was  not  so  much  hearing  as 
he  was  feeling  the  full  volume  of  thunderous  yet  wail- 
ing sound  with  which  the  air  in  that  church  w^as 
trembling.  A  great  many  people  bowed  their  heads 
again. 

There  came  a  sort  of  shudder  in  the  music,  and 
then  through  all  the  organ-sound  there  cleft  another — 
a  faint,  gasping,  quickly-cut-off  cry  of  a  woman's 
voice. 

"I  know  how  she  feels,"  murmured  Mrs.  Randolph. 
"  He  did  not  come  home.  She  could  not  help  it.  God 
help  her!     Poor  thing,  poor  thing!" 

The  great  burst  of  solemn  music  slowly  died  away 
among  the  crowded  aisles  of  the  city  church,  as  an 
altogether  different  kind  of  music  rang  out  suddenly 
in  a  far-away  and  very  different  place.  This  was  not 
in  any  church  or  city  or  village,  but  in  a  narrow  and 
wooded  valley,  through  the  middle  of  which  ran  a 
stream  with  a  dusty  road  to  keep  it  company.  The 
music  here  was  very  clear  and  sweet,  for  it  came 
from  a  bugle,  and  its  mellow  notes  carried  orders  to 
a  column  of  mounted  men. 

The  officer  who  commanded  them  rode  at  their  head, 
a  little  in  advance ;  but  he  drew  his  rein  sharply  as  a 
boyish  form  stepped  out  from  some  bushes  into  the 


106  THE    BATTLE   OF   NEW   YOEK. 

road,  and  a  shrill,  intensely  agitated  voice  shouted, 
"Halt!" 

"Halt!"  loudly  echoed  the  officer.  The  bugle  sent 
the  order  back  to  the  very  end  of  the  column,  and 
horses  and  men  stood  still. 

The  boy  was  now  at  the  side  of  the  officer's  horse, 
and  leaned  against  it  as  he  added,  appearing  to  do  so 
with  great  effort : 

"  A  strong  force  of  Federal  cavalry,  four  field-pieces, 
regiment  of  infantry,  just  beyond  the  ridge.  Ee- 
treat!" 

"Who  are  you?"  asked  the  officer,  looking  sternly 
down  into  the  pale,  upturning  face  of  the  boy. 

"Lean  over,  colonel,"  he  said.  "It's  a  secret.  I 
must  whisper. "  The  officer  bowed  low  to  hear.  "I'm 
Davis  Mason  Randolph.  My  uncle.  General  John 
Mason  Randolph.  Disf)atches  for  General  Lee — pri- 
vate !"  There  the  whisper  ended,  for  Dave  had  fainted 
away.    . 

Down  sprang  the  colonel.  Down  came  another 
officer  and  two  cavalrymen  and  the  bugler.  They 
lifted  Dave  and  poured  something  into  his  mouth. 

"Not  wounded,  my  boy?"  asked  the  colonel,  as 
Dave's  eyes  slowly  opened. 

"No,"  said  Dave;  "but  I've  only  eaten  twice  in 
more  than  two  days.  Been  almost  running  since  sun- 
rise.    I've  had  to  work  my  way  around  camps  and 


REPORTING   TO    GENERAL   LEE.  107 

through  the  woods  and  mountains.  Dodging  pickets 
and  scouting  parties.  You  haven't  any  time  to  lose. 
They're  too  strong  for  you." 

They  made  him  eat  and  drink  a  Httle,  and  then 
they  put  him  on  a  horse  behind  one  of  the  men,  and 
rode  back  along  the  winding  valley.  Hardly  were 
they  out  of  sight  before  there  were  men  in  blue  uni- 
forms, and  cannon  posted  upon  the  ridge  Dave  had 
pointed  at,  and  men  with  picks  and  spades  were  throw- 
ing up  a  breastwork  across  the  road ;  for  that  little 
valley  was  one  of  the  important  passes  of  the  terrible 
summer  campaign  in  upper  Maryland,  and  the  Union 
forces  had  seized  it  just  in  time. 

Dave  rapidly  grew  stronger,  but  the  colonel  agreed 
with  him  that  he  had  no  right  to  say  much  about  his 
errand  until  he  could  say  it  to  General  Eandolph  or  to 
General  Lee  himself. 

"That,  however,  must  be  done  right  away,"  said 
the  colonel.     "Can  you  stand  it  to  ride  so  far?" 

"I  shan't  faint  again,  now  I've  had  something  to 
eat,"  replied  Dave.  "I  can  ride  till  I  see  General 
Lee." 

"Plucky  boy!"  said  the  colonel;  but  Dave  had  a 
ride  of  many  long  miles  before  him. 

Still,  it  was  not  many  hours  later  when  there  was 
a  gathering  of  remarkable-looking  men  in  a  large 
room  of  an  old  farm-house,  and  the  horse  Dave  had 


108  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

ridden  stood  hitched  near  the  gate  in  front  of  the 
house. 

"General  Eandolph,"  said  an  officer  to  whom  one 
of  the  others  had  been  talking,  "  you.  have  a  right  to 
be  proud  of  your  nephew.     Where  is  he?" 

"Come  in,  Davis,"  said  General  Eandolph.  "You 
are  to  report  to  General  Lee." 

In  came  the  all  but  worn-out  boy  messenger,  and 
he  had  evidently  been  trying  to  brush  the  dust  from 
his  blue  suit,  but  he  had  failed  almost  entirely.  The 
room  seemed  to  swim  before  him,  but  he  gathered  all 
his  courage  and  strength  to  stand  in  the  presence  of 
those  great  warriors  and  tell  them  what  he  had 
done. 

General  Lee's  hand  held  the  letter  from  Mrs.  Ran- 
dolph to  Uncle  John,  and  he  said  kindly : 

"Speak  right  out,  my  boy!" 

"Flat-iron,"  began  Davis,  blushing  and  stammer- 
ing, as  he  pointed  at  the  letter. 

"Of  course!"  interrupted  the  general.  "Heat  one 
at  once!  Now,  Davis,  what  have  you  seen?  You 
came  with  the  Federal  forces?  Through  them? 
Where  are  they?" 

"General  Hooker's  army  is  at  Frederick,  Mary- 
land," said  Dave.  "  I  crept  around  them  in  the  night, 
through  the  hills,  woods.  All  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac is  on  its  way  to  meet  us.     Close  at  hand " 


REPORTING    TO    GENERAL    LEE.  109 

"Stop  there!"  exclaimed  General  Lee,  while  the 
other  officers  exchanged  rapid  glances,  full  of  surprise. 
"  This  is  the  most  important  news  we  have  had.  We 
won't  touch  Harrisburg  yet.  All  forces  must  be  or- 
dered to  concentrate  near  Gettysburg.  General  Ean- 
dolph,  your  nephew  has  selected  the  battle-ground 
where  the  fate  of  this  war  is  to  be  decided." 

Dave  felt  like  burning  up  rather  than  fainting 
away,  but  he  was  still  weak  from  fasting  and  fatigue, 
and  it  required  all  his  pluck  to  keep  up  and  talk  right 
on  while  the  flat-iron  was  heating.  He  had  a  great 
many  rapid  questions  put  to  him,  and  his  answers  in- 
cluded the  talk  of  the  gentlemen  in  the  railway  car 
on  the  way  to  Philadelphia.  The  sleepy  boy  in  the 
seat  corner  by  the  window  had  hardly  forgotten  a 
word  of  it. 

The  fiat-iron  came,  and  his  mother's  letter  was  laid 
open  upon  a  table  and  pressed  hard.  The  invisible 
writing  between  the  lines  came  out  clear,  black,  leg- 
ible; and  General  Lee's  face  grew  flushed  and  earnest 
as  he  read. 

"Gentlemen,"  he  said  to  the  few  entirely  trusted 
men  around  him,  "  New  York  is  ready  to  rise  on  the 
day  set  for  the  draft,  July  11th.  We  need  but  to  win 
one  sweeping  victory  a  few  days  earlier.  Our  friends 
there  are  ready.  They  can  take  the  city  without  a 
blow.     What  an  hour  this  is !     I  shall  risk  this  army 


110  THE    BATTLE    OF   NEW   YORK. 

at  Gettysburg  upon  the  cast  of  that  die !  What  is  it, 
General  EandoljDh?" 

"Davis  tells  me  that  the  city  is  full  of  discharged 
Federal  soldiers — veterans — and  that  the  police  force, 
thoroughly  drilled,  are  equal  to  a  full  brigade.  There 
are  gunboats  in  the  harbor." 

"Just  so,  Randolph!  Vernon  says  so.  Mapleson 
understands  it  fully.  He  counts  upon  the  thousands 
of  drafted  men  who  are  determined  not  to  be  torn 
from  their  homes.  They  will  not  hinder  him,  if  they 
do  not  help  him.  The  sincere  friends  of  the  South, 
however,  are  even  a  more  trustworthy  reliance.     They 

are  equal  in  number  to  a  corps  of  our  army " 

He  paused,  and  another  general  officer  added,  with  a 
smile  that  seemed  sarcastically  bitter : 

" I  know  Mapleson.  Tell  it  all,  general!  He  will 
arm  all  the  convicts  in  all  the  jails,  all  the  worst  part 
of  the  foreign  population,  and  all  the  red -flag  anarch- 
ists. They  will  all  rise,  and  he  will  try  and  put  them 
where  they  will  all  be  killed.  He  is  a  genius !  We 
must  win  his  victory  for  him.  He  won't  care  much 
for  police  and  disbanded  volunteers,  now  all  the  militia 
are  out  here  to  face  us." 

That,  too,  had  been  part  of  the  news  Davis  brought 
to  his  commander;  but  the  next  orders  he  received 
were  to  eat  again  and  go  to  sleep.  He  obeyed  both 
orders,  although  he  tried  to  keep  his  eyes  open  after 


EEPORTING   TO   GENERAL   LEE.  Ill 

he  lay  down.  It  was  of  no  use  at  all,  for  just  as  he 
was  saying,  "  Don't  I  wish  mother  and  Lilian  knew 
where  I  am  and  what  I've  been  doing!  Isn't  this 
splendid?  I'm  in  the  headquarters  of  General  Lee! — 
the  greatest  general — "  his  eyelids  came  together,  and 
all  he  could  do  after  that  was  to  dream.  That  was 
something,  perhaps ;  for  in  his  dreams  he  seemed  to 
himself  to  be  talking  with  those  he  went  to  sleep 
thinking  of. 

"  There  I  sat,  mother,  hid  in  the  hemlock  tree,  while 
the  Federal  cavalry  rode  by — thousands  on  thousands ! 
No,  Lil,  I  didn't  get  hit,  but  the  bullets  buzzed  right 
over  me.  I  lay  in  the  hollow  I'd  crept  into  till  the 
skirmish  was  over.  You  can  go  without  eating  a 
day  at  a  time,  but  you  don't  want  to  do  it  two  days 
running — not  if  you're  on  a  scout.  But  I  saw 
General  Lee  and  Uncle  John.  We're  coming  to 
take  New  York,  soon's  we've  won  this  victory  right 
here." 

While  he  was  dreaming  of  his  mother  and  sister, 
they  were  thinking  of  him. 

It  was  late  in  the  day,  and  they  were  in  their  own 
room. 

"It  is  too  bad,"  said  Mrs.  Eandolph,  "that  we  can- 
not know  what  has  become  of  him." 

"I  believe  he  got  through,"  said  Lilian.  "I  feel 
sure  of  it.     He  is  somewhere  under  our  own  flag.     I 


112  THE   BATTLE   OF   NEW   YORK. 

mustn't  put  it  out  at  the  window,  but  I'm  going  to 
put  it  where  I  can  see  it.  I  won't  leave  it  furled  up 
all  the  time." 

It  stood  in  a  corner,  as  if  waiting  for  either  her  or 
General  Lee  to  come.  She  unrolled  it,  but  the  bed 
offered  the  only  place  to  spread  it — or  the  floor.  After 
all,  however,  when  it  was  fully  opened  out  it  had  a 
look  of  being  only  another  kind  of  Stars  and  Stripes. 
There  was  the  same  idea  looking  through  it. 

"I  know  Dave  is  under  it  somewhere,"  she  repeated 
positively ;  but  she  could  not  have  guessed  the  precise 
way  in  which  she  was  literally  correct. 

Davis  lay  upon  a  camp-bed,  in  a  little,  narrow,  slop- 
ing-roofed, farmhouse  bedroom ;  and  just  then  a  foot- 
step came  slowly  in,  and  another ;  and  two  men  stood 
looking  at  him. 

"I  will  not  wake  him  up,  Kandolph,"  said  one  of 
them.  "Let  him  sleep  it  out.  I'll  ask  my  questions 
by-and-by.  When  he  wakes  up,  tell  him  I  did  this. 
Tell  him  to  keep  it." 

He  held  in  his  hand  a  Confederate  flag  and  staff, 
of  the  ordinary  signal-size.  He  unrolled  it  and  spread 
it  lightly  over  Dave,  remarking  in  a  low  voice : 

"It's  all  the  keepsake  lean  give  him.  God  bless 
the  boys  of  the  South!  Randolph,  they  must  take 
your  place  and  mine,  one  of  these  days.  He  will  win 
his  stars  yet,  if  he  lives." 


General  Lee  covers  sleeping  Dave  with  the  Confederate  flag. 


REPORTING   TO   GENERAL   LEE.  113 

"That  is  a  star  for  him,  General  Lee,"  replied  Uncle 
John. 

Lilian  herself  would  have  said  so. 

Hours  later,  when  Dave's  long  slumber  of  exhaus- 
tion ended,  and  he  opened  his  eyes,  he  uttered  a  loud, 
startled : 

"Hullo!" 

It  was  as  if  he  had  called  for  somebody,  and  a  sol- 
dier at  once  entered  the  room. 

"Yes,  sir;  what  is  it?  I'm  to  take  charge  of  you — 
General  Randolph's  orders.  You  are  to  follow  the 
staff  until  you  catch  up  with  them." 

"Who  put  this  here?"  asked  Dave. 

The  soldier's  eyes  were  dancing  with  eager  enthusi- 
asm as  he  replied : 

"They  say  you  deserved  it.  Glad  you  did!  Big- 
gest honor  any  boy  o'  your  inches  ever  got !  Why, 
my  boy.  General  Lee  put  it  there!" 

Dave  sprang  to  his  feet  with  the  staff  of  that  flag 
in  his  hand,  but  he  could  not  speak.     It  was  too  much. 

"Come  along!"  said  the  soldier.  "I  know  how 
you  feel.  Won't  the  boys  cheer  when  they  see  ye 
with  that?  They  know  you  worked  your  way  clean 
through  Hooker's  army  somehow.  True  Old  Virginny 
grit!" 

He  was  evidently  a  Virginian  himself,  like  Dave 
and  General  Lee,  but  he  did  not  have  one  trouble  that 


114  THE   BATTLE   OF   NEW   YORK. 

came  to  his  young  hero.  It  was  an  awful  thing  to 
Dave  to  have  to  lay  that  flag  down  while  he  managed 
a  knife  and  fork. 

Barry  was  also  in  some  trouble  that  afternoon.  He 
was  all  in  blue,  without  being  in  uniform ;  and  he  felt 
that  he  must  really  be  a  soldier  of  some  kind.  He 
did  not  remain  in  the  house,  but  took  a  walk — he 
hardly  knew  or  cared  where. 

"  I  want  to  know  what's  going  on, "  he  said.  "  Dave 
did.  He  was  bound  to  do  something  for  his  own  side 
of  the  war,  I  can't  do  a  thing !  Tell  you  what ! 
how'd  I  feel  selling  newspapers  that  told  of  a  defeat 
of  our  army?     I  just  couldn't!     I  won't!" 

He  was  feeling  very  patriotic,  but  he  had  not  taken 
any  pains  to  know  what  street  he  w^as  walking  in ;  and 
at  that  moment  he  was  called  away  from  his  own 
thoughts  by  the  queerest  shouting  he  had  ever  heard. 

He  was  passing  by  a  dingy  kind  of  house  which 
looked  to  him,  as  he  said,  "like  an  empty  beer-shop 
without  any  sign."  Whatever  else  it  was,  he  could 
see  that  it  was  crowded ;  for  the  door  stood  half-way 
open,  and  he  could  look  in. 

"I  don't  want  to  go  in,"  he  exclaimed;  "but  if  that 
isn't  Palovski !" 

There  he  was,  on  a  platform  at  the  other  end  of  a 
long  room,  swinging  his  arms  and  shouting  furiously, 
in  a  voice  which  now  and  then  became  almost  a  shriek. 


REPORTING   TO   GENERAL   LEE.  115 

The  room  was  densely  packed  with  men,  for  the  greater 
part  poorly  clad;  and  among  them  were  scattered 
many  women.  All  were  bareheaded — men  and  wo- 
men alike — and  all  were  listening  excitedly,  except 
when  they  applauded. 

"I  wonder  what  language  he  is  speaking  in,"  said 
Barry.  "Hullo!  that's  awful!  It's  like  an  auction- 
eer's flag,  or  a  danger  flag  at  a  rock-blasting.  I 
know  what  it  means." 

True  enough !  Palovski  and  his  friends  had  a  flag 
of  their  own ;  and  it  was  very  red,  like  a  flag  of  dan- 
ger or  a  flag  of  selling  out  after  a  failure.  He  swung 
it  over  his  head,  and  he  shouted  more  hoarsely  than 
ever;  and  Barry  caught  the  one  word  "draft!"  but  at 
that  moment  the  door,  which  had  been  opened  to  let 
a  little  air  into  that  hot  room,  was  slammed  shut,  and 
he  could  see  and  hear  no  more. 

"Anarchists!"  he  said.  "Palovski  and  all  of  them 
are  opposed  to  the  draft.  I  thought  they  only  met  in 
secret.  Anyhow,  nobody  could  guess  what  he's  been 
saying,  if  'twasn't  for  that  red  flag.  There's  a  great 
deal  in  a  flag.  Hurrah  for  the  Stars  and  Stripes! 
Old  Glory!" 

"Dot's  right,  my  poy!"  exclaimed  a  hearty,  cheery 
voice  behind  him.  "I  say  so!  I  vas  fight  mit  Sigel! 
Hurrah  for  de  goot  flag!" 

He  v/as  a  big,  yellow-bearded  man,  and  looked  as 


116  THE   BATTLE    OF   NEW    YORK. 

if  he  might  count  for  something  on  any  side  he  fought 
for.  Barry  was  as  glad  to  meet  him  as  if  he  had  been 
an  old  friend,  and  at  once  told  him  hurriedly  about 
Palovski's  meeting  and  the  red  flag. 

"Oh!"  laughed  the  big  German,  contemptuously; 
"dose  fellow?  Dere  vas  no  fight  in  dose  anarchy. 
My  poy,  dot  lot  of  fellow  vas  fit  only  to  break  stone 
een  Sing  Sing.  Dey  vas  all  t'ief,  t'ief,  roiiper,  cut- 
t'roat ! — not  von  soldier  among  dem.  I  go  in  mit  a 
goot  club  ant  clean  dem  all  out  o'  dot  crib." 

"I  wish  you  would,  then,"  said  Barry.  "I'd  like 
to  burn  up  their  red  flag !" 


Kid  Vogle  liooting  into  the  ear  of  Respectability. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THE   FIRST   GUN   OP   THE   BATTLE, 

HE  month  of  June  came  to  a  close  in  the 

middle  of  the  week.     It  was  one  of  the 

most  excited  weeks  that  New   York  had 

ever  seen,    but  it  was  especially  hard  on 

newsboys. 

"I  say,  Barry,"  shouted  Kid,  when  they  met 
near  the  Herald  building  early  on  Wednesday  morn- 
ing, "isn't  this  just  awful?  You  bet  it  is!  You 
can't  sell  out  one  extra  before  there's  another." 

"Any  more  news?"  inquired  Barry  eagerly,  but  at 
that  moment  Kid's  ever- watchful  eyes  were  caught 
by  a  probable  customer  and  he  darted  away.  "He's 
got  him!"  exclaimed  the  Shiner. 

That  was  precisely  so.  An  elderly,  heavily  made, 
very  respectable  man,  with  a  bright  silk  hat  on,  had 
shoved  it  back  a  little  to  look  up  at  the  bulletin-board 
on  the  front  of  the  Herald  Building.  He  was  trying 
to  read  something  there,  when  it  seemed  to  him  as  if 
an  owl,  or  a  young  locomotive,  had  howled  into  his 
ear,  "Ax-tree!" 

117 


118  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW   YORK. 

" Bless  my  soul !     What  is  it?     You  don't  say?" 

But  one  hand  went  up  toward  that  ear,  and  off 
went  his  hat,  to  be  picked  up  and  handed  him  by 
Barry,  while  he  paid  Kid  for  the  "last  extry."  Just 
as  the  change  was  made,  Kid  suddenly  exclaimed  to 
his  partners : 

"Eush  in,  boys!  Get  'em!  There's  another  extry 
comin'  downstairs  now.  Mebbe  Lee's  been  licked,  or 
suthin'." 

They  were  all  off  in  a  twinkling,  and  the  old  gen- 
tleman stood  and  looked  at  his  purchase. 

"  Bless  my  soul !"  he  exclaimed.  "  That  makes  four 
of  the  same  kind  that  I've  purchased  this  morning. 
But  then,  the  boy  was  not  aware  of  that  fact,  and  I 
cannot  justly  find  fault  with  him.  I  wish  I  knew  how 
this  battle  is  going  to  turn  out.  It  is  of  vast  impor- 
tance to  the  entire  business  community.  Especially 
to  the  banking  interest." 

He  and  Kid,  therefore,  were  of  somewhat  the  same 
mind,  except  that  Kid  was  thinking  more  of  the  great 
newsboy  interest.  Barry  was  not  thinking  of  either 
banks  or  newspapers  during  the  next  few  minutes. 
He  only  succeeded  in  getting  a  few  of  that  lot  of 
Heralds,  and  they  were  going  out  of  his  hands 
pretty  rapidly,  when  a  voice  he  knew  said  to  him 
hurriedly : 

"Barry,  Barry!  I  want  one!     Keep  one  for  me!" 


THE    FIRST   GUN    OF    THE    BATTLE.  119 

"Lilian!"  exclaimed  Barry.  "You  —  away  down 
here?" 

"I  couldn't  help  it,"  she  said.  "I  want  to  know 
what's  going  on,  and  it's  so  tiresome  staying  in  the 
house.  Mother  said  I  might  come.  Is  there  any 
news?" 

"There's  a  paper,"  he  said.  "It's  the  last  there  is 
out;  but  there  isn't  anything  yet." 

"There  must  be  something  pretty  soon,"  began  Lil- 
ian, putting  a  hand  into  her  pocket,  as  if  she  were 
going  to  pay  him. 

"No,  you  don't,"  he  exclaimed,  with  a  deep  flush 
on  his  face.  "If  it  wasn't  my  duty  to  make  money 
for  mother  I  couldn't  sell  papers — not  this  week.  She 
needs  it.     Father'll  be  in  that  battle." 

"What  battle?"  asked  an  excited-looking  gentleman 
who  held  out  a  hand  for  a  copy  of  the  Tribune  extra. 

"Meade's  battle  with  Lee,"  began  Barry.  "But  I 
don't  believe  it's  begun  yet.     It's  only  nine  o'clock." 

All  their  eyes  turned  toward  the  great  clock-face  on 
the  cupola  of  the  City  Hall,  and  sure  enough 

"Just  nine,"  said  Lilian,  "but  what's  that?" 

"Only  a  signal  gun,"  said  the  gentleman.  "It's 
from  one  of  the  forts  in  the  harbor." 

"That's  so,"  said  Barry. 

"Oh,  dear!"  exclaimed  Lilian;  "do  you  suppose  the 
battle  has  really  begun?" 


120  THE    BATTLE    OF   NEW   YORK. 

Nobody  who  heard  that  soHtary  cannon  speak  out 
over  the  glancing,  dancing,  laughing  water  of  New 
York  Bay  knew  that  precisely  at  nine  o'clock  a  Union 
cavalry  general,  with  other  officers,  stood  in  front  of 
the  old  tavern  in  Gettysburg;  and  he  was  saying: 

"Major,  what  are  you  here  for?" 

"  Shoes  for  our  brigade. " 

"Go  back  to  your  command  at  once!" 

"  Why,  general,  what's  the  matter?" 

The  general  had  turned  his  head  as  if  listening,  and 
they  all  heard  the  dull  and  far-away  sound  of  a  single 
heavy  gun. 

"That's  what's  the  matter!"  shouted  the  general, 
stepping  forward,  springing  to  the  saddle  of  his  horse, 
and  dashing  rapidly  away. 

The  battle  of  Gettysburg,  which  both  armies  had 
been  so  many  days  preparing  for  and  marching  to- 
ward, had  begun  at  nine  o'clock,  July  1st. 

"Barry,"  said  Lilian,  "I'd  rather  sell  papers  or  do 
almost  anything  than  sit  in  the  house  and  wait." 

"You'd  better  go  home,  though,"  said  Barry.  "If 
there's  any  news  at  noon,  and  there  won't  be,  I'll  try 
and  bring  it." 

Away  walked  Lilian  w^ith  her  paper,  and  with  an 
idea  that  City  Hall  Square  w^as  about  the  hottest, 
most  crowded,  most  disagreeable  place  she  knew  of. 

"The  Stars    and    Stripes    everywhere!"  she   said; 


THE   FIRST   GUN    OF   THE    BATTLE.  121 

"but  it  won't  be  long  before  I  shall  come  down  to  see 
our  own  flag  on  the  City  Hall,  and  on  all  the  other 
buildings.  I'll  take  mine  and  go  out  to  meet  our 
army  when  it  marches  in." 

Her  eyes  flashed,  her  cheeks  reddened,  her  step  grew 
prouder,  and  she  had  only  walked  a  little  further  when 
she  added : 

"Don't  I  wish  I  were  a  regiment!  They  say  there 
are  no  Federal  troops  in  New  York  just  now.  If 
General  Lee  knew,  or  if  he  could  send  some  of  ours 
here!  Uncle  John's  brigade  could  take  the  city.  I'd 
be  sorry  for  Barry  and  his  mother,  though.  Oh  dear 
me !  But  Dave  will  tell  them  all  about  it.  I  believe 
he  has  got  there  and  told  already.  Uncle  John  will 
be  in  the  battle.     Davis  won't." 

Up-town,  in  the  boarding-house,  Mrs.  Eedding  and 
Mrs.  Randolph  had  met  in  the  dining-room.  They 
stood  a  moment  and  looked  each  other  in  the  face; 
for  they  too  had  been  talking  about  the  coming  strug- 
gle between  the  armies. 

"Mrs.  Eedding,"  said  her  Southern  friend,  "you 
needn't  say  another  word.  I  know  precisely  how  you 
feel.  God  keep  him!  Once,  you  know,  it  was  my 
own  husband." 

"Indeed,  we  mustn't  talk  about  it,"  said  Mrs.  Red- 
ding. "I  dare  not  let  myself  think  about  it.  I  do 
hope  they  won't  let  Dave " 


122  THE   BATTLE   OF   NEW   YORK. 

And  that  was  really  all  they  could  say,  for  they 
were  like  nearly  all  other  people — they  knew  what 
was  coming,  and  somehow  they  felt  almost  sure  that 
a  fight  was  going  on. 

Barry  went  right  along  selling  newspapers,  but  he 
probably  did  not  guess  how  often  he  said  to  himself : 

"I  wish  I  were  there! — right  in  the  middle  of  it — 
somewhere  near  father!  I'd  give  anything  to  be  in 
one  real,  great  battle !" 

Once  only  he  added : 

"Perhaps  I'll  see  a  battle  if  I  stay  where  I  am.  If 
there's  any  danger  of  New  York  being  captured  I'll 
get  a  gun  somehow.  Oh,  but  won't  there  be  a  fight 
before  they  get  in!" 

He  was  working  his  way  homeward,  selling  out  all 
his  morning  papers  as  he  went;  and  he  was  at  last 
saying,  just  inside  of  his  own  doorway : 

"  Yes,  mother,  there  was  a  bulletin  on  the  Tribune 
board  that  Lee  and  Meade  were  firing;"  and  Lilian 
interrupted  with : 

"  Davis  is  there — I  know  he  is !  I  wish  I  could  see 
him!" 

"You  can  be  mighty  glad  you're  not  there  then," 
replied  Barry.  "You  couldn't  do  one  thing  if  you 
were." 

"I  could  stand  anything  Dave  can,"  said  Lilian. 
But  girls  can't  do  anything." 


THE   FIRST   GUN    OF   THE   BATTLE.  123 

"Perhaps  they  can,"  said  Barry.  "Who  was  it 
swung  that  flag?  But  you  mustn't  do  it  again — not 
just  now.     'Twouldn't  be  so  safe." 

Barry  had  more  to  tell,  and  he  had  brought  papers ; 
but  he  had  not  brought  the  very  latest  news.  The 
newsboys  who  remained  down-town  had  a  little  more, 
and  Kid  Vogel  did  not  at  all  know  what  he  meant 
when  he  dashed  down  Broadway,  shouting : 

" Vicksburg!  Grant!  Goin'  to  salt  it  right  away! 
Yes,  sir.  Mr.  Mapleson.  HeraV,  Times,  WorP, 
Sun! " 

"I'll  take  a  copy  of  each,"  said  the  dignified  man 
with  the  stiff,  white  moustache.  "Going  to  try  to 
take  Vicksburg  by  assault,  is  he?     Then  he's  crazy." 

That  had  been  at  about  noon,  but  people  in  the 
North  should  have  been  listening  for  sounds  in  the 
Southwest,  as  well  as  at  Gettysburg,  at  nine  o'clock 
that  morning.  All  around  Vicksburg  and  the  long 
lines  of  earthworks  it  seemed  to  be  one  roar  of  sound. 
The  Federal  works  had  been  somehow  drawing  nearer 
and  nearer  that  town.  The  Confederate  works  had 
not  narrowed  any,  but  they  had  a  shut-up  look,  and 
as  if  they  and  the  men  behind  them  were  getting 
tired  out. 

Nine  o'clock !  and  suddenly  one  sound  boomed  loudly 
above  all  the  others.  It  was  a  great  burst  of  sound, 
and  a  part  of  one  of  the  most  important  Confederate 


124  THE   BATTLE    OF   NEW   YORK. 

forts,  or  works,  went  up  into  the  air  in  a  vast  cloud 
of  dust  and  smoke  and  fire.  A  mine  had  been  dug 
away  in  under  it,  and  a  ton  of  gunpowder  had  been 
fired  off  at  once.  If  Barry  could  have  seen  it  he 
might  have  gained  one  more  idea  about  war;  for 
when  the  dust  settled  there  could  be  seen  a  great  gap, 
through  which  men  could  charge  whenever  the  time 
should  come  for  them  to  do  so.  It  was  the  news  of 
the  explosion  of  that  mine  which  was  telegraphed  to 
New  York,  and  which  made  Kid  Vogel  shout : 

"Salt!  Vicksburg!"  all  the  way  down  Broadway. 
He  was  no  more  excited  than  usual,  although  he 
seemed  to  hoot  louder.  Perhaps  his  voice  was  im- 
proving with  constant  training,  but  there  was  no  need 
of  it. 

Barry,  on  the  other  hand,  was  very  silent  at  the 
house,  and  so  was  Lilian.  There  seemed  to  be  a 
feeling  that  they  ought  to  be  enemies  that  day,  even 
if  they  really  were  not.  Anyhow,  Barry  left  the  table 
as  soon  as  he  could ;  and  his  mother  quickly  followed 
him,  for  he  had  beckoned  her. 

"What  is  it?"  she  said. 

"Mother,"  he  exclaimed,  "we  can't  do  anything; 
but  I  do  hope  Lil  won't  bring  out  that  Secesh  flag  to- 
day.    She  mustn '  t ! " 

"Indeed  she  must  not!"  replied  Mrs.  Eedding.  "I 
hope  she  won't  be  so  foolish." 


THE   FIRST   GUN    OF   THE   BATTLE.  125 

"They  shall  never  take  New  York,  mother!" 

"  They  never  will !     Barry?" 

"Well,  mother?" 

"  How  much  money  have  you  got  laid  by,  besides 
what  you  need  for  papers?" 

"More'n  four  dollars,"  said  Barry. 

"Well!"  exclaimed  his  mother,  with  energy,  and 
with  a  good  deal  of  excitement  in  her  eyes.  "Mr. 
Mickles  has  paid  his  bill  at  last.  He  means  all  right, 
but  he's  awful  slack;  and  I've  paid  all  I  owe;  and  I 
won't  be  without  a  gun  or  something  to  shoot  with 
in  this  house." 

"Just  what  I  was  thinking  of!"  shouted  Barry. 
"I  v/ant  to  buy  a  revolver.  I  know  where  I  can  get 
a  real  good  one — large  size,  cheap.  Second-hand,  but 
it's  a  Colt's  six-shooter." 

"Go  and  get  it!"  she  said.  "Get  two  if  you  can! 
Get  ammunition.  'Tisn't  right  not  to  have  them. 
I  don't  know  what  to  get.  Revolvers  are  better  than 
guns,  I  guess.  Two  revolvers  '11  go  off  a  dozen 
times." 

"Hurrah!"  shouted  Barry  again;  for  she  handed 
him  three  five-dollar  bills.  "I'm  off!  I'll  get 'em! 
Mother,  put  the  flag  in  the  parlor  window  and  keep  it 
flying!     This  house  is  Union !" 

Part  of  it  was,  beyond  a  doubt,  as  any  one  passing 
along  the  street  could  shortly  see ;  but  the  back  room 


126  THE    BATTLE    OF   NEW   YORK. 

on  the  third  floor,  nevertheless,  could  not  be  entered 
without  the  discovery  that  the  mirror  over  the  dress- 
ing-bureau was  liberally  draped  with  the  Stars  and 
Bars;  while  under  them  lay  a  sword  in  a  sheath. 

"There,  now!"  said  Lilian,  as  she  finished  placing 
the  folds  of  bunting;  "I  just  love  that  flag!  Isn't  it 
splendid?  We  won't  have  to  hide  it  a  great  while 
longer!" 

"Lilian,"  said  Mrs.  Randolph,  in  a  low,  tremulous 
voice,  "if  General  Lee  had  with  him  all  the  brave 
men  who  cannot  be  there  to-day,  he  might  win  the 
victory." 

She  was  looking  at  the  sheathed  sword,  and  then 
Lilian  looked  at  it;  and  then — well,  neither  of  them 
could  see  anything  for  a  few  minutes.  So  much  mist 
arose  in  their  eyes  that  it  hid  the  flag  and  the  sheathed 
sword  that  was  sheathed  forever, 

"Barry!"  shouted  Kid,  when  they  again  met  in 
City  Hall  Square,  "ain't  this  awful?  There's  an 
extry  every  half-hour.  They're  fightin'  like  cats  an' 
dogs!" 

"Let's  pitch  in!"  replied  Barry;  but  Kid  did  not 
hear  him  add  to  himself,  "I've  got  to  make  money! 
If  Lee  should  beat  Meade,  I'd  want  to  buy  lots  of 
cartridges." 

It  was  a  great  day  for  newsboys,  except  that  they 
could  not  get  papers  fast  enough.     Everybody  was 


THE    FIRST    GUN    OF    THE    BATTLE.  127 

wild  to  buy,  and  the  crowd  in  front  of  the  Stock 
Exchange  filled  the  street  from  curbstone  to  curb- 
stone. 

There  was  a  lull  at  last,  and  Barry  had  a  whole 
minute  to  think  in. 

"Soon  's  I  get  another  batch  of  papers,"  he  ex- 
claimed, "I  know!  I'll  sell  'em  on  Maiden  Lane! 
There's  some  big  gun  and  pistol  stores  along  there." 

It  seemed  like  killing  two  birds  with  one  stone,  and 
it  was  getting  late  in  the  day.  The  stores  might  be 
shut  if  he  should  wait  too  long.  He  had  seen  them 
all  before,  and  had  stared  in  at  the  great  show  win- 
dows at  the  rifles,  bayonets,  swords,  knives,  pistols, 
cartridges,  and  miniature  cannon.  They  were  places 
that  seemed  to  be  jammed  full  of  war. 

He  was  only  a  few  minutes  in  getting  there,  but 
he  did  not  have  to  carry  his  load  of  extra  papers  far. 
They  were  almost  taken  away  from  him  by  eager  men 
who  would  hardly  wait  for  their  change. 

"I've  made  more  money  to-day!"  he  remarked. 
"I'll  get  big-sized  pistols.     They  carry  half  a  mile." 

He  was  staring  into  a  large,  busy-looking  establish- 
ment, but  so  was  somebody  else.  In  fact,  there  was 
quite  a  little  gathering  on  the  sidewalk ;  and  Barry 
heard  a  harsh,  gutteral  voice  speaking  in  low  tones, 
but  he  thought  he  knew  it. 

"We  only  need  one  pistol  to  each  of  us  now.     'Tis 


128  THE    BATTLE    OF   NEW    YORK. 

all  we  need  buy.  We  shall  seize  this  place  first. 
There's  enough  right  here  to  arm  our  friends." 

"Here,  Palovski!"  growled  another  voice;  "de 
ammunition?" 

"Down  there,"  replied  Palovski,  pointing  toward 
the  basement  of  the  store.  "They  keep  it  secret,  but 
he  says  it  is  down  there.  He  is  to  be  drafted.  He 
works  with  them  long  time.     He's  one  of  us." 

"Humph!"  muttered  Barry;  "I  know  what  he 
means.  One  of  the  clerks  in  the  store  is  an  anarch- 
ist. They  keep  a  pile  of  cartridges  in  the  cellar. 
More  there  than  anybody  supposes.  Wonder  if  I 
ought  to  do  anything?     I  don't  know." 

Further  down  the  street  was  a  different  kind  of 
man,  who  seemed  to  be  also  in  doubt  what  to  do. 

"Mr.  Mapleson,"  said  he,  "glad  to  meet  you.  How 
are  things  goin'?  Have  you  seen  the  latest  dis- 
patches from  Gettysburg?" 

"The  papers,  Hunker?"  said  Mapleson,  looking 
icier  than  ever.  "I  don't  care  what  they  say.  Lee 
is  sweeping  all  before  him.  This  day  is  a  defeat  for 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac." 

" Is  everything  ready  here?"  asked  Hunker.  "All 
I  know  of  is,  what  our  folks  want  is  arms." 

"There  they  are,"  said  Maj)leson,  pointing  back 
along  the  street.  "  We  shall  have  them  first  thing — 
all  the  militia  armories  and  the  gun  factories  at  the 


THE    FIRST    GUN    OF  THE    BATTLE.  129 

same  hour — every  gun  store  in  the  city,  all  the  gov- 
ernment depositories  of  arms — enough  to  fit  out  an 
army  corps! — cannon,  too!" 

"The  gunboats  will  protect  the  Navy  Yard, "  said 
Hunker.  We  can't  cross  the  East  River  in  ferry- 
boats against  them." 

"  We  shall  not  need  to, "  said  Mapleson.  "  The  Navy 
Yard  is  to  be  captured  from  the  Brooklyn  side.  There 
are  heavy  guns  there — enough  to  knock  all  the  gun- 
boats to  pieces.  New  York  is  ours,  safely  enough. 
You  and  your  men  will  take  care  of  the  provision 
business." 

"Everything,"  said  Hunker;  "and  all  the  clothing 
stores.     But  about  the  Sub-Treasury  and  the  banks?" 

"  They  will  all  be  full  of  men  at  the  same  stroke  of 
the  clock,"  said  Mapleson.  "That  is  the  easiest  part 
of  the  whole  job.  The  red-flag  people  will  seize  the 
police-stations,  while  the  policemen  are  scattered  all 
over  the  city." 

Barry  did  not  hear  that  conversation.  Nobody  else 
but  the  two  conspirators  heard  it;  for  it  passed  be- 
tween them  in  low,  intensely  secret  whispers,  and  they 
separated  at  a  street  corner — each  to  his  own  part  of 
what  he  believed  was  about  to  come  to  pass. 

Even  what  Palovski  had  said  was  temporarily  driven 
from  Barry's  mind  by  the  excitement  of  buying  two 
large  Colt's  navy  revolvers  at  half-price,  and  a  hundred 


130  THE   BATTLE    OF   NEW   YORK. 

rounds  of  copper  cartridges.  Both  of  his  weapons  had 
seen  service  and  were  "second-hand,"  but  they  were 
in  good  condition.  His  fingers  trembled  when  he  tried 
the  locks,  but  he  made  a  great  effort  to  look  as  if  he 
were  used  to  pistols. 

"Going  into  the  army?"  asked  the  man  behind  the 
counter,  as  he  wrapped  up  Barry's  purchases  for  him. 

"Wish  I  was  at  Gettysburg!"  said  Barry. 

"If  you  were  you  would  wish  you  were  here  again," 
laughed  the  salesman. 

"Tell  you  what,  though!"  said  Barry,  "I  wouldn't 
want  to  be  in  this  store  on  the  day  of  the  draft." 

"Why  not?"  inquired  a  deep  voice  behind  him,  and 
Barry  turned  around  to  see  a  powerful-looking  man 
in  police  uniform.  "Why  not?"  he  asked  again. 
"I'm  police  inspector." 

"Because  the  drafted  men  are  going  to  fight  the 
draft  if  Meade  gets  whipped  at  Gettysburg,"  said 
Barry;  "and  they're  coming  here  to  get  these  guns." 

"That's  just  what  we  won't  let  them  do,  then," 
said  the  Inspector,  laughing.  "I've  heard  that  talk. 
Where  did  you  hear  it?" 

"In  that  crowd  at  the  door,"  said  Barry.  "No; 
they're  gone  now." 

"I  saw  them,"  nodded  the  Inspector.  "We  shall 
be  ready  for  them." 

"My  father's  in  the  army,"  said  Barry.     "I'm  too 


THE   FIRST   GUN   OF   THE   BATTLE.  131 

young  yet.  Mother  told  me  to  buy  these  things.  I 
don't  believe  Lee  can  whip  Meade." 

He  felt  confused  before  the  inspector's  keen,  pierc- 
ing eyes,  and  he  was  quite  willing  to  hurry  away ;  but 
the  tall  officer  turned  to  the  salesman  and  said : 

"Do  you  know,  that  boy  is  right?  I  look  for  trou- 
ble. So  do  we  all.  That  is,  if  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  is  beaten." 

"They  say  it  is,"  replied  the  salesman,  gloomily. 

"  Only  for  one  day,"  said  the  inspector,  with  energy. 
"It  always  takes  our  boys  three  days  to  find  out 
whether  they  are  whipped  or  not.  General  Lee  has  a 
rough  road  to  travel  after  that,  too." 

It  is  not  at  all  strange,  sometimes,  that  sensible 
men  who  are  far  away  from  each  other  should  think 
alike. 

Davis  Eandolph,  down  beyond  Gettysburg,  could 
not  hear  the  remarks  of  the  inspector,  but  he  could 
hear  what  was  said  by  some  men  who  were  speaking 
close  by  him,  as  the  long  midsummer  day  waned  hoth^ 
toward  an  end. 

"General,"  said  one  of  them,  "what  do  you  think 
now?  We  have  driven  the  Federals  all  day.  It's  a 
complete  victory!" 

"No,  it  is  not,"  was  thoughtfully  responded ;  "it's 
only  a  beginning.  We  have  only  broken  the  outer 
edges  of  Meade's  army.     You  must  remember  that  it 


132  THE    BATTLE   OF   NEW   YORK. 

is  the  old  Army  of  the  Potomac.  We  have  met  them 
before.     What  do  you  think,  General  Randolph?" 

"I  think  we  have  done  well  to-day.  I  think  we 
shall  beat  them  again  to-morrow.  Very  likely  we 
shall  beat  them  again  the  third  day." 

"I  thought  you  would  say  so,"  exclaimed  the  first 
speaker,  "but  you  were  going  to  say  something  more." 

"Yes,"  said  the  other  general;  "what  then — after 
the  third  day's  victory?" 

"Then?"  said  General  Randolph,  with  an  expression 
of  pain  on  his  face  that  Davis  took  sharp  notice  of — 
"Then,  all  that's  left  of  us  will  go  back  to  Virginia." 

They  were  walking  away  toward  General  Lee's 
headquarters  as  they  talked,  and  Dave  looked  after 
them  with  a  feeling  of  astonishment. 

"Retreat?"  he  said  to  himself,  "after  a  big  victory? 
Why,  no ;  as  soon  as  our  friends  up  there  have  taken 
New  York,  this  army  will  march  right  in  and  keep 
possession  of  it.  That's  what  General  Lee  means  to 
do.  All  they  want  there  is  just  the  victory  we  are 
winning." 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE   BATTLE-FIELD. 

'LL  over  the  great  city,  on  that  second  day 
of  July,  1863,  there  seemed  to  be  a  kind 
of    hush.     Everybody  was  up  very  early, 
and  work  and  business  seemed  to  go  on  as 
usual.     It  was  a  long  day,  and  it  was  dread- 
fully hot,   for  besides  all  the  heat  of   the   sun 
people  were  suffering  from  a  burning  fever  of  sus- 
pense.    The   only  sign  of   coolness  to  be  discovered 
anywhere  was  when  two  persons  met  who  had  an  idea 
that  they  were  on  opposite  sides  in  national  affairs. 
The  men  whose  hearts  were  with  General  Meade  and 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  were  very  icy  to  the  men 
whose  hearts  might  be  with  General  Lee.     Even  Barry 
Redding,  as  he  was  going  out  of  the  house  in  the 
morning,  remarked  to  himself: 

"I'm  just  glad  Dave  isn't  here  to-day.  I  don't 
want  to  see  him.  Glad  I  dodged  out,  too,  before 
Lihan  or  Mrs.  Randolph  came  downstairs.  I  don't 
want  to  see  anybody  that  isn't  on  our  side." 

Lilian  felt  somewhat  as  he  did,  for  she  said  to  her 
mother : 

133 


134  THE   BATTLE   OF   NEW    YORK. 

"I know  we  shall  win  the  victory,  and  I  don't  want 
Barry  to  see  how  glad  I  am." 

"Yes,  Lilian,"  rejDlied  Mrs.  Eandolph  thoughtfully; 
"I  would  be  careful.  lam  sorry  for  Mrs.  Eedding. 
She  must  be  feeling  very  badly  to-day." 

Mrs.  Eedding  was  in  her  room  just  then,  and  there 
was  a  peculiar  look  on  her  face.  It  was  not  at  all 
despondent. 

Before  her  on  her  dressing-bureau  lay  both  of 
Barry's  purchases  at  the  gun-store,  and  she  had 
opened  a  box  of  metallic  cartridges. 

"  I  know  how  to  put  them  in  now, "  she  said.  "  I've 
snapped  and  snapped  them,  till  I  know  just  how  to 
fire  them  off.  I  wish  Barry  and  I,  and  all  the  women 
who  feel  as  I  do,  could  re-enforce  our  troops  at  Gettys- 
burg." 

She  did  not  speak  of  Vicksburg ;  perhaps  because  it 
was  so  far  away  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  per- 
haps because  her  husband  was  not  there ;  but  Barry 
read  something  about  it  in  the  papers  he  was  selling. 
So  did  other  people,  but  it  seemed  as  if  the  war  in  the 
West  was  somehow  hidden  a  little  by  the  great  clouds 
of  battle  in  the  East.  Nevertheless,  when  Mr.  Hunker 
met  Mr.  Mapleson  he  asked : 

"What  if  that  good-for-nothing  fellow  Grant  should 
really  take  Vicksburg?" 

"It  wouldn't  make  any  difference  what  he  took," 


THE   BATTLE-FIELD.  135 

replied  Mr.  Mapleson  calmly,  "if  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  is  thoroughly  beaten  at  Gettysburg  to-day, 
as  it  will  be,  and  if  we  take  New  York.  This  is  a 
bigger  political  fort  than  Vicksburg.  I  think  we  shall 
know  to-night  or  to-morrow  morning,  but  we  must 
keep  very  still." 

"I'll  talk  Union  all  day,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Hunker. 
"The  Lincoln  men  are  feeling  ugly.  It  isn't  safe  to 
rile  'em.     I  don't  care  to  run  no  risks." 

That  was  a  little  like  what  Kid  Vogel  said  to  the 
Shiner  and  Barry. 

"Look  out,  boys!"  he  advised  them.  "Jest  holler 
extry,  and  say  it's  latest  erdish'n.  I  got  shook  by  one 
old  feller,  like  I  was  a  rat,  for  hollerin'  'Defeat  of  the 
P'tomick. '  He  bought  one  paper  of  each  kind, 
though — all  'round — and  said  he'd  find  out  how  it 
really  was." 

"Don't  you  worry!"  said  Barry.  "Nobody  knows 
how  a  battle's  going  till  it's  all  over." 

Newspapers  were  demanded  that  day  faster  than 
they  could  be  printed ;  only  that  every  buyer  wanted 
a  later  edition  than  the  one  that  was  out.  The  Shiner 
remarked : 

"Biggest  day  we  ever  had!  but  what  if  the  tele- 
graph-wire breaks  down?     Wouldn't  that  be  awful?" 

"Guess  it  won't,"  said  Kid;  "but  if  it  did,  they'd 
run  out  extries  just  the  same.     Do  you  s'pose  they'd 


13G  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW   YORK. 

stop  printin',  long  's  there  was  fellers  lioldin'  out 
stamps?" 

"Not  much!"  replied  the  Shiner;  but  Barry  turned 
away,  saying  to  himself: 

"  Seems  to  me  I  was  never  so  tired  in  all  my  life. 
It's  the  battle." 

That  was  it.  Everybody  grew  more  and  more 
weary  as  the  shadows  lengthened  and  the  day  of  sus- 
pense drew  slowly  to  a  close. 

The  telegraph-wires  had  worked  hard,  as  had  the 
printing-presses ;  but  neither  had  broken  down. 

They  were  busier  than  ever  when  at  last  Barry 
stood  still  on  a  street  corner,  saying : 

"I  don't  care!  I  won't  sell  another  paper!  I'll  take 
these  home  with  me.     I  can't  stand  it!" 

So  it  seemed  to  others;  for  even  the  packed  street- 
car he  went  uptown  in  was  as  silent  as  if  it  belonged 
to  a  funeral  procession. 

Even  the  people  who  had  remained  indoors  wore  a 
wilted  look,  as  if  they  had  been  undergoing  the  fatigue 
of  a  battle  in  the  hot  sun, 

"  I  do  wish  Barry  'd  get  home !  I  want  to  see  what 
the  news  is,"  said  Mrs.  Kandolph  to  Lilian.  "It  is  so 
late!     Why  doesn't  he  come  home?" 

"I  want  him  to  come,  and  I  don't,"  said  Lilian. 
"He  and  his  mother  will  feel  dreadfully.  There!  he's 
coming  in  now!     I  hope  he  has  brought  some  papers." 


THE    BATTLE-FIELD.  137 

He  had ;  but  when  he  reached  the  house  he  went 
straight  to  his  mother's  room. 

"I  knew  I'd  find  you  here,"  he  said,  as  he  gave  her 
the  papers.    " 

"Why,  Barry!"  she  exclaimed,  "what  is  it?"  for  he 
at  once  threw  himself,  face  downward,  upon  the  bed. 

"They  say  we  are  defeated!"  he  groaned. 

She  turned  pale  for  a  moment,  and  then  she  slowly 
opened  a  paper. 

"I  don't  believe  it,"  she  said.  "I  won't  believe  it! 
Why,  Barry,  you  must  have  read  the  wrong  paper. 
The  battle's  only  half  done.  Barry,  get  up!  The 
Forty -second  hasn't  been  in  the  fight  at  all  yet,  so  far 
as  I  can  see.  No,  it  wasn't  yesterday,  either.  Your 
father  will  come  home  as  good  as  ever  after  Meade 
has  beaten  Lee.  I'll  take  the  other  papers  to  Mrs. 
Eandolph.     They  need  all  the  comfort  they  can  get." 

"I'll  read  this  while  you  are  gone,"  he  said,  as  he 
stood  up  again.     "Guess  I  was  tired." 

"Thank  you,"  said  Mrs.  Eandolph,  as  the  papers 
were  handed  in.  "  We  did  so  want  to  see  them.  Is 
it  a  victory?" 

"Nobody  knows  what  it  is,"  replied  Mrs.  Eedding. 
"Our  troops  are  getting  there.     Eead  the  papers." 

She  hurried  away,  as  if  something  in  her  throat 

prevented  her  saying  more;  but  as  she  re-entered  her 

own  room  Barry  said  to  her : 
10 


138  THE   BATTLE    OF   NEW    YOEK. 

"  Mother,  I  feel  better.  Tell  you  what !  I  heard  an 
army  officer  say  down-town,  if  this  keeps  on,  and  they 
fight  to-morrow,  both  sides  '11  be  used  up,  like  two 
Kilkenny  cats,  and  that  '11  be  the  end  of  Lee's  inva- 
sion." 

"Not  if  he  wins  a  victory,"  she  said. 

"Well,"  replied  Barry,  "he  said  a  three  days'  vic- 
tory was  as  bad  for  him  as  one  day's  defeat." 

Barry  himself  could  not  understand  it  or  explain  it, 
but  he  was  glad  it  had  been  said  by  a  man  with  eagle 
shoulder-straps  and  a  pair  of  crutches, 

"Tm  glad  we  can't  see  the  battle-field  to-night," 
said  his  mother  to  Mrs.  Eandolph,  when  they  met  be- 
fore supper.     "It  must  be  terrible! — dreadful!" 

"Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Randolph,  with  a  shudder;  "I 
saw  some  of  the  battle-fields  around  Richmond — the 
first  great  battles  between  Lee  and  McClellan.  This 
must  be  worse." 

"How  I  wish  I  knew  if  Dave  is  there!"  said  Lilian. 

Nobody  ever  sees  the  whole  of  a  battle-field;  and 
Dave  was  there  without  having  seen  any  great  part 
of  the  first  or  second  day's  fighting. 

"Here  I  have  been  all  day,"  he  said.  "I've  heard 
the  roar  of  guns;  I've  seen  troops  and  cannon  go  for- 
ward ;  I've  seen  any  amount  of  smoke ;  but  I  haven't 
seen  any  battle.  Have  we  really  won  a  victory,  Uncle 
John?" 


THE    BATTLE-FIELD.  139 

They  were  standing  in  front  of  a  tent  near  which 
an  orderly  held  the  horse  from  which  Uncle  John  had 
dismounted. 

"I've  seen  some  of  it,"  he  said,  in  reply.  "Yes, 
we  have  beaten  them  so  far;  but  they  are  the  best  sol- 
diers on  the  earth — next  to  ours.  Braver  men  never 
walked!  This  is  a  horrible  war!  I  wish  it  were 
over !" 

"Shall  we  finish  our  victory  to-morrow?"  asked 
Dave.     "If  we  don't  we  shall  never  take  New  York." 

"I  can't  talk  any  more  to-night,"  said  Uncle  John. 
"I'm  exhausted.  I  must  go  in  and  sleep  as  long  as 
I  can.  I'll  have  something  to  say  to  you  to-morrow 
morning." 

It  was  getting  dark,  and  it  was  only  now  and  then 
that  the  brooding  silence  was  broken  by  the  sound  of 
a  distant  cannon. 

"Strangest  thing!"  said  Dave  to  himself,  as  his 
uncle  went  into  the  tent.  "Some  of  the  hardest 
fighting  of  yesterday  was  done  close  by  where  we  are 
camped  now.  Our  boys  drove  the  Federals  right 
across  all  this  ground.  But,  for  all  that,  I  can't  guess 
where  the  fighting  has  been  to-day,  nor  where  it  is 
going  to  be  to-morrow." 

He  was  only  a  boy,  and  it  was  no  wonder  he  was 
puzzled;  for  that  was  the  very  question  before  two 
councils  of  war.     General  Lee  and  his  best  advisers 


140  THE   BATTLE    OF   NEW   YORK. 

were  receiving  reports  from  all  parts  of  the  field,  and 
were  in  great  doubt  about  what  would  be  their  best 
plan  for  the  next  day.  General  Meade  had  called 
together  his  corps  commanders,  and  had  asked  them 
whether  it  were  best  to  retreat  or  to  fight  again. 
They,  had  decided  to  fight,  with  much  doubt  as  to 
j)recisely  the  lines  and  manner  of  the  battle. 

They  decided  all  the  questions  that  seemed  to  be  be- 
fore them,  and  they  decided  one  question  more  that 
they  did  not  know  or  mention. 

This  question  was  discussed  by  a  little  knot  of  men 
in  an  elegantly  furnished  room  in  a  hotel  of  the  great 
city  itself. 

"On  the  whole,  Mapleson,"  asked  one  of  them, 
"how  does  it  look?" 

"Look?"  said  Mr.  Mapleson;  "it all  looks  one  way. 
Meade  is  only  half  defeated.  If  he  and  his  generals 
were  worth  their  salt  they  would  fight  again.  They 
will  not,  though.  They  will  retreat;  and  as  soon  as 
it  is  known  here  that  they  have  retreated  the  draft  is 
impossible,  and  New  York  is  ours  the  day  they  try 
it  on." 

So  the  draft  was  one  of  the  questions  decided  by 
General  Meade  and  his  council  of  war,  without  one 
general  among  them  all  dreaming  that  they  were  de- 
ciding it. 

There  were  thousands  asleep  upon  the  battle-field — 


THE    BATTLE-FIELD.  141 

thousands  who  were  worn-out  with  the  combats  and 
marches  of  the  day,  and  thousands  more  who  would 
never  awake  again.  There  were  other  thousands  who 
could  not  sleep,  because  of  the  pain  their  wounds  gave 
them ;  and  besides  all  these  were  the  sleepless  watchers 
and  the  sore  hearts  full  of  grief  over  the  events  of 
the  day  and  of  anxiety  concerning  the  results  of  the 
morrow.  There  had  really  been  two  victories  and  two 
defeats ;  for  the  right  wing  only  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  had  been  beaten,  and  so  had  the  right  wing 
of  the  army  under  General  Lee.  The  Union  centre 
had  also  been  somewhat  broken,  however ;  and  things 
did  not  look  very  well. 

The  sun  of  the  third  day  of  July  arose  above  the 
horizon  red  and  lowering;  and  its  first  clear  light, 
long  before  it  was  high  enough  to  look  down  into  the 
streets  of  the  city,  found  Lilian  Eandolph  at  her 
window. 

"I  feel  just  as  you  do,"  said  her  mother,  coming  to 
sit  down  by  her.  "I  couldn't  sleep,  either.  It  seems 
as  if  everybody  ought  to  be  up  and  dressed.  Oh,  what 
a  day  this  is  going  to  be!" 

"  I  want  to  know  where  Dave  is !"  exclaimed  Lilian. 
"  I  wish  I  could  see  the  battle ! — see  the  splendid  regi- 
ments of  the  South,  with  our  flag  at  their  head,  charg- 
ing on  to  victory !" 

"  Or  else "  began  Mrs.  Randolph,  but  there  she 


142  THE    BATTLE   OF   NEW    YORK. 

stopped  and  both  were  silent;  for  "or  else"  meant  a 
great  deal  in  the  morning  before  a  great  battle. 

"It  was  real  good  of  you,  Dinah,"  said  Barry,  down 
in  the  dining-room,  "  to  get  up  so  early  and  have  my 
breakfast  ready." 

"Bress  yer  soul,  honey!"  exclaimed  Diana,  as  she 
came  in  with  some  coffee ;  "  I  jes'  wants  ye  to  git  out 
of  de  house  and  go  an'  see  wot  news  dar  is  from  de 
wall.  I  wish  dey  all  had  a  good  breakfuss  'fore  dey 
begin." 

Some  of  them  did,  and  some  of  them  did  not ;  for 
the  cooking  arrangements  around  a  battle-field  are 
never  very  good.  The  rattle  of  musketry  and  the 
roar  of  cannon,  however,  began  with  the  dawn. 
There  was  hard  fighting  all  along  the  lines  after 
that,  but  toward  noon  there  was  a  strange  and  terri- 
ble lull. 

"Uncle  John,"  said  Dave,  as  he  stood  beside  him 
on  the  crest  of  a  ridge,  "  I  can  see  more  of  the  enemy 
than  I  ever  did  before;  but  what  does  this  mean? 
Isn't  something  great  coming?" 

"Yes,"  said  Uncle  John,  with  a  deep  shadow  on 
his  face.  "Look  at  the  Federal  lines!  Look  at  ours! 
We  are  about  to  make  the  greatest  charge  of  this  war. 
If  we  succeed,  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  is  destroyed; 
if  we  fail " 

Dave  felt  his  heart  beating  very  hard. 


THE    BATTLE-FIELD.  143 

"What  then,  Uncle  John?"  he  asked. 

"Take  this  letter  and  hand  it  to  your  mother,"  re- 
plied Uncle  John,  in  a  low  but  steady  tone  of  voice. 
"  It  tells  her  where  to  find  my  will.  Now  you  must 
keep  near  General  Lee.  He  will  have  an  important 
errand  for  you  at  about  sunset.     Good-by!" 

Dave  tried  to  ask  another  question,  but  his  voice 
utterly  failed  him.  Before  he  could  recover  himself 
Uncle  John  sprang  upon  his  horse ;  for  just  then  a 
signal  gun  rang  out  from  a  battery  near  them,  and 
the  next  moment  the  earth  shook  with  the  almost 
simultaneous  roar  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen  cannon. 
Almost  instantly  an  equal  number  replied  to  them 
from  the  Federal  batteries. 

"There  is  such  a  smoke, "said  Dave  to  himself  after 
a  while,  "  that  I  cannot  see  what  is  going  on,  but  I  be- 
lieve our  men  are  moving.  It  has  been  nothing  but 
artillery  work  these  two  hours.  It's  a  tremendous 
battle!" 

He  was  silent  then,  for  the  heavy  firing  ceased,  a 
wind  lifted  the  smoke,  and  Dave  could  see  the  long 
lines  of  brave  men  under  the  Confederate  General 
Pickett  go  forward  to  their  desperate  undertaking. 

"Uncle  John  said  they  were  about  seventeen  thou- 
sand— the  best  troops  of  our  army!  There's  his 
brigade.     He  is  leading  it  in  person.     Hurrah!" 

His  voice  was  cracked  and  hoarse  with  excitement, 


144  THE   BATTLE    OF   NEW    YORK. 

but  he  could  wave  the  flag  General  Lee  had  given  him. 
He  might  have  shouted  again,  if  it  had  not  been  for 
a  sense  of  awe  which  suddenly  came  over  him  as  he 
whispered : 

"There  is  General  Lee! — watching  the  great  charge 
through  his  telescope." 

An  hour  went  by — another — in  what  seemed  to 
Dave  a  long,  awful  dream,  in  which  he  stared  at  a 
far-away  ridge  of  ground  which  was  crowned  with 
smoke  and  fire  and  fighting  men. 

"I  can't  stay  here!"  he  said  at  last ;  "but  I  must. 
I  must  obey  Uncle  John's  orders.  Oh,  how  I  want  to 
be  there!  But  I  must  stay  near  General  Lee.  I'd 
be  wearing  shoulder-straps  if  I  were  a  man!" 

At  some  little  distance  beyond  the  crest  of  the  hill, 
where  the  closest,  hardest  fighting  had  been  done,  a 
man  in  the  uniform  of  a  Confederate  brigadier-general 
lay  upon  the  grass ;  and  by  him — apparently  watch- 
ing him — sat  a  Union  captain,  who  was  at  the  same 
time  bandaging  a  wounded  leg  of  his  own.  Here  and 
there  near  them  were  men  with  stretchers,  carrying 
away  other  wounded  men.  A  mounted  officer  came 
past  them,  as  if  looking  for  somebody. 

"Ah,  there  he  is!"  he  said,  pointing  at  the  wounded 
Confederate  general.  "Captain  Bedding,  can  you 
give  me  his  name?" 


THE    BATTLE-FIELD.  145 

"He  has  not  spoken,"  said  Captain  Redding;  "but 
he  is  handing  me  a  letter;"  for  one  was  feebly  held 
out  to  him  just  as  the  mounted  man  said  to  the 
wounded  Confederate  general: 

"General  Doubleday  has  sent  me,  sir,  to  inquire 
your  name  and  rank,  and  see  what  can  be  done  for 
you." 

"Captain  Eedding, "  murmured  the  wounded  officer, 
"don't  show  that  to  any  one !  Send  it !  I  can  trust  a 
brave  comrade — "  but  he  looked  up  at  the  messenger 
leaning  in  the  saddle  to  hear  him,  and  added,  "Tell 
General  Doubleday,  in  a  few  minutes  I  shall  be  where 
there  is  no  rank." 

His  eyes  closed. 

"Gone?"  asked  the  messenger. 

"Gone,"  replied  Captain  Redding,  and  General 
Doubleday 's  aide  galloped  away;  but  Captain  Red- 
ding put  the  letter  into  his  own  pocket,  remarking: 

"  'Mrs.  Helen  M,  Randolph  ' — at  my  own  house  in 
New  York !     Strange !     I  hope  I  shall  not  lose  my  leg. " 

The  roar  of  the  battle  went  on,  and  Dave  heard  it; 
and  he  watched  with  burning  eyes,  for  he  was  begin- 
ning to  understand  something  which  made  his  heart 
sink. 

"  Come !     General  Lee  has  sent  for  you. " 

He  heard  the  officer  speak,  and  he  followed  him. 
Then  he  knew,  dimly  and  half -blindly,  that  he  stood  in 


146  THE    BATTLE   OF   NEW    YORK. 

the  presence  of  General  Lee,  and  that  the  great  com- 
mander spoke  to  him.  He  saw  him  take  a  Confed- 
erate ten-dollar  hill  and  tear  it  in  two  in  the  middle 
and  again  lengthwise. 

"Go  to  New  York,"  said  General  Lee,  "and  hand 
that  to  Mr.  Vernon.  If  you  lose  it,  get  another  and 
show  him  the  torn  pieces.     He  will  understand.     Go!" 

Dave  half  staggered  as  he  walked  away ;  for  now 
he  knew  that  General  Pickett's  grand  charge  had 
failed,  and  that  the  army  under  General  Lee  had  been 
defeated.     He  had  thought  that  impossible. 

"Can  it  be?"  he  said.  "Why,  the  battle  isn't 
over !  Listen  to  the  roar  of  guns !  He  must  know 
better  than  I  do.  Anyhow,  I  must  obey  orders.  I 
must  go  to  New  York.  I  wish  I  could  see  Uncle  John 
first." 

Before  him,  farther  than  he  could  see,  were  scat- 
tered the  still-surging  wrecks  of  the  great  battle  of 
Gettysburg.  The  artillery  on  both  sides — what  was 
left  of  it — was  still  at  work. 

Eegiments  and  brigades  were  charging,  struggling 
for  the  last  mastery.  Broken  detachments  on  both 
sides  were  surrendering,  or  trying  to  escape  capture. 
Cavalry  squadrons  were  dashing  against  each  other  at 
several  hard-contested  points.  It  was  a  smoky  horror 
of  confusion,  which  the  best  generals  of  each  army 
could  not  yet  quite  understand. 


s  ** 


•7/- 


Dave  starts  for  New  York  with  General  Lee's  message. 


THE    BATTLE-FIELD.  147 

"I've  only  one  duty,"  said  Dave,  "and  I  must  do 
that.  No,  T  won't  throw  away  my  flag.  I'll  wrap  it 
up  in  that  Stars  and  Stripes  and  carry  it  with  me." 

A  Union  flag  lay  on  the  ground  where  there  were 
many  motionless  forms  around  a  dismounted  field- 
piece,  and  Dave  picked  it  up. 

"I  must  get  myself  taken  prisoner,  I  suppose,"  he 
said.     "I'll  go  straight  ahead." 

How  he  did  it  he  hardly  knew,  for  he  passed  through 
throngs  of  excited,  shouting,  jDOwder-blackened  sol- 
diers. Falling  shells  burst  near  him.  Bullets  buzzed 
past  his  head.  He  heard  the  clash  of  sabres  and  the 
rattle  of  rifles. 

"General  Lee  is  defeated!  General  Lee  is  defeated!" 
he  murmured  to  himself  every  now  and  then.  "  He 
has  ordered  me  to  New  York,  and  I  must  go." 


CHAPTER   XI. 

THE   TORN   TEN-DOLLAR   BILL. 


j^^ir^/^  T  was  a  little  late  when  Barry  reached  home 
^'m  that  3d  of  July,  1863.  He  came  into  the 
^^      house   at   the   basement  door,  and   found 


^^ 


the  dining-room  apparently  deserted. 
"Mother,    mother!"  he  shouted;  "Vicksburg 
has  surrendered !"  and  he   added,  as  she  came 
hurrying  in,  "I'm  so  tired  I  can  hardly  stand  up," 

"But  what  about  Gettysburg?"  she  asked,  almost 
breathlessly.  "Is  there  any  news  from  Gettys- 
burg?" 

"Yes,"  he  said;  but,  as  if  it  were  almost  too  great 
a  thing  to  tell — "Lee  is  defeated!" 

Down  she  droj)ped  into  a  chair,  while  he  went  on : 

"There  was  a  telegram  just  come  before  I  started 
for  home.  There  have  been  all  sorts  all  day.  We 
were  all  so  hoarse  we  couldn't  holler — not  even  Kid. 
One  man  sat  down  on  the  curbstone  and  cried,  and 
two  lame  soldiers  hugged  each  other.     The  people  are 

almost  crazy,  they  are  so  glad." 

148 


THE    TORN    TEN-DOLLAR    BILL.  149 

"Why,  Barry!"  exclaimed  his  mother;  "then  it 
must  be  true!     New  York  is  safe.     Oh!  your  father!" 

"  They've  been  fighting  hard  all  day,"  gasped  Barry, 
as  he  too  sat  down;  "but  they  say  it's  a  victory." 

"Lilian,"  whispered  somebody  in  the  hall,  "let's  go 
to  our  room !     I  don't  want  to  hear  any  more." 

"It  can't  be  so,  mother,  "said  Lilian  with  a  dry  sob, 
but  they  hurried  away;  and  hardly  had  they  shut 
their  door  behind  them  when  she  again  exclaimed,  "It 
isn't  so!     I  won't  believe  it !" 

A  deep  shadow  had  fallen  on  Mrs.  Randolph's  face 
as  well  as  on  Lilian's,  but  she  replied: 

"I'm  afraid  it  is  true.  Your  Uncle  John  said  in 
one  of  his  letters  that  if  those  two  armies  got  face  to 
face  again  it  would  ruin  both  of  them." 

"Oh,  Dave!"  exclaimed  Lilian,  as  she  threw  herself 
on  the  sofa;  "he  may  be  killed!" 

"Barry!"  suddenly  exclaimed  Mrs.  Eedding,  down 
in  the  dining-room;  "I'm  afraid  they  heard  you. 
They  were  in  the  hall.     I'm  so  sorry!" 

"So  am  I,"  said  Barry;  "but  if  they  did,  we  won't 
have  to  tell  them.     Poor  Lilian!" 

That  was  an  exceedingly  long  evening,  for  it  was 
measured  partly  by  doubts  and  partly  by  a  continual 
stream  of  telegraphic  dispatches.  Nobody  wanted  to 
go  to  bed  at  all,  for  fear  bad  news  might  come  from 
the  battle-field  while  the  city  was  asleep. 


150  THE   BATTLE   OF    NEW    YORK. 

There  was  indeed  a  great  deal  of  confusion  and  un- 
certainty in  the  dispatches  from  Gettysburg,  and  Mr. 
Hunker  said  so  to  Mr,  Mapleson,  adding : 

"Of  course  the  Lincohi  journals  put  the  best  face 
they  can  on  to  it,  but  they've  been  pretty  roughly 
handled." 

"Of  course  they  have,"  replied  the  cold,  hard, 
steady -minded  politician;  "but  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  did  not  retreat.  It  fought  hard  all  day,  and 
that  is  the  end  of  Lee's  march,  northward.  We  can 
just  shut  up  and  keep  still." 

"But  the  draft?"  said  Mr.  Hunker. 

"Let  it  alone,"  said  his  keen-eyed  friend.  "It  is 
not  any  of  our  business  now.  I  don't  propose  to  burn 
my  fingers." 

Mr.  Hunker  walked  away  looking  very  gloomy,  but 
Mr.  Mapleson  went  on  up  the  street  erect,  smiling, 
vigorous;  and  to  the  first  man  he  spoke  to  he  said,  in 
a  loud,  clear  voice: 

"  The  Army  of  the  Potomac  has  only  fulfilled  my 
prophecy." 

"What  was  that,  sir?"  inquired  a  stern-looking  by- 
stander in  uniform.  "  I  thought  you  were  a  Copper- 
head?" and  he  added,  in  an  undertone,  "You  are, 
too." 

"If  that  means  a  man  of  common  sense,"  replied 
Mr.  Mapleson,  "so  I  am;  but  I  prophesied  that  if  our 


THE   TORN   TEN-DOLLAR   BILL.  151 

troops  would  only  stand  their  ground,  Lee  would 
retreat  into  Virginia.  You  will  see  that  I  am 
right." 

"  Of  course  you  are.  But  I  supposed  you  were  on 
the  other  side." 

"Hoping  for  the  destruction  of  my  own  city?"  said 
Mr.  Mapleson.  "  Why,  my  dear  general,  I'm  a  man 
of  sense." 

So  he  seemed  to  be — a  man  of  too  much  sense  to 
let  anybody  suppose  that  he  belonged  to  the  defeated 
army  in  any  way.  Sensible  people  also  went  to  sleep 
at  last,  and  so  did  one  utterly  wearied -out  young 
fellow  whom  the  darkness  had  overtaken  near  a 
Pennsylvania  rail-fence  corner,  into  which  he  could 
crawl  and  lie  down. 

When  the  darkness  again  departed,  in  the  early 
sunrise  of  Saturday,  the  Fourth  of  July,  Dave  slowly 
awoke  and  sat  up.  He  seemed  for  a  few  moments  to 
be  trying  to  collect  his  wits  and  remember  something 
that  had  happened. 

"Defeated?"  he  said  to  himself.  "Yes,  they  said 
so.  We  were  defeated !"  And  then  he  sat  still  for 
some  time,  as  if  that  were  too  much  for  him  to  stand 
up  under. 

"I  don't  know  where  I  am,"  he  said  at  last,  as  he 
slowly  arose  to  his  feet.  "I  think  I  marched  right 
through  the  battle  somehow." 


152  THE   BATTLE    OF   NEW   YOEK. 

That  was  precisely  what  he  had  done ;  and  neither 
army  had  paid  him  any  manner  of  attention.  Now, 
however,  he  was  aware  that  he  must  eat  something, 
if  he  was  to  obey  General  Lee's  orders  and  hurry  on 
to  New  York. 

"  There  are  some  tents  over  yonder,"  he  said.  "I'm 
in  blue;  I'm  not  a  prisoner.  I'm  glad,  though,  that 
my  flag  is  wrapped  up  inside  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes, 
so  I  shan't  lose  it." 

There  were  several  tents,  and  one  was  larger  than 
the  rest.  There  was  no  sentry  at  the  open  front  of  it, 
although  there  were  numbers  of  Union  soldiers  coming 
and  going.     Davis  walked  up  to  it  and  looked  in. 

"Hospital!"  he  remarked,  as  he  took  another  step 
forward ;  and  at  that  moment  he  heard  a  hearty  voice 
near  him  saying : 

"All  right.  Captain  Redding!  You  are  not  going 
to  lose  your  leg.  The  sabre-cut  on  your  arm  is  a 
mere  nothing." 

"Captain  Redding?"  exclaimed  Dave.  "That  must 
be  Barry's  father!  Won't  Mrs.  Redding  and  Barry 
be  glad  to  hear  from  him?  I'll  speak  to  him,  and 
then  I'll  have  something  to  tell  them  when  I  get 
there." 

"Hullo!"  said  the  cheerful  surgeon  turning  around ; 
"do  you  know  the  captain's  people?  Yes?  You  can 
tell  them  the  captain  will  come  out  all  right.     He'll 


THE    TORN    TEN-DOLLAR    BILL.  153 

be  a  major,  too,  or  a  colonel.  You  may  speak  to  him 
for  a  moment." 

A  very  faint  voice  from  the  camp-cot  beside  which 
the  surgeon  was  standing  seemed  to  be  trying  to  speak 
louder,  and  Dave  went  quickly  forward  and  bent 
down  over  the  wounded  man,  whispering : 

"Don't  try  to  talk,  if  it  hurts!  I'm  Mrs.  Ean- 
dolph's  son.  We  live  at  your  house.  I  was  there 
only  a  few  days  ago.  Both  of  them  are  well.  I'll 
tell  them." 

"  Say  I  shall  come  home  on  furlough  as  soon  as  I 
can  move.  That's  all,"  replied  the  captain.  "Doc- 
tor, give  him  that  letter  for  my  wife,  please ;  and  see 
that  he  is  taken  care  of." 

"No,  I  can't,"  said  the  surgeon.  "He  will  have  to 
take  care  of  himself.  He  isn't  wounded.  Get  right 
along,  my  boy!  Orderly!  send  him  to  one  of  the 
messes  for  any  rations  they  can  give  him.  Then, 
my  boy,"  he  said  to  Dave  again,  "you  get  off  to  New 
York!  This  isn't  a  place  for  youngsters  like  you. 
March!  There's  the  captain's  letter.  I've  put  the 
other  inside  and  sealed  it  up." 

Dave  hastily  thanked  him,  and  sent  a  good-by  at 

Captain  Eedding ;  but  there  was  no  response,  for  the 

hurt  leg  and  the  sabre- cut  together  really  did  amount 

to  something. 

"I  guess  Barry  Eedding  would  find  out  what  war 
11 


154  THE   BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

is  if  he  were  here,"  said  Dave,  as  he  followed  the 
soldier  in  charge  of  him,  "He  wouldn't  need  to  ask 
any  more  questions  if  he  had  seen  this  battle.  I  think 
I  shall  get  through  to  New  York.  Our  side  isn't 
beaten  very  badly,  anyhow." 

All  around  Gettysburg  it  was  the  day  after  the 
battle.  Both  armies  were  exhausted  and  sullen ;  for 
their  losses  during  the  three  days  of  combat,  while 
nearly  equal,  had  been  enormous. 

All  around  New  York,  and  in  all  the  other  cities 
and  villages  of  the  North,  it  was  the  Fourth  of  July 
after  these  two  great  victories — one  in  the  East  and 
one  in  the  West. 

The  wooden  mortars  at  Vicksburg  were  at  last 
silent.  They  would  never  be  called  upon  to  roar 
again ;  for  the  Mississippi  River  was  at  last  set  free, 
from  its  source  to  its  mouth. 

The  South  tried  hard,  as  Dave  did,  to  believe  that 
it  had  not  been  very  badly  defeated;  but  its  best 
generals  and  its  wisest  men  told  each  other  that  the 
end  of  the  civil  war  could  not  now  be  far  away. 
Many  of  them  felt  as  Barry  Eedding  did  when  he  said 
to  Kid : 

"I  don't  see  what  they  want  of  any  more  war. 
Why  can't  they  stop?" 

'"Cause  they  can't,"  said  Kid.  "If  they  did,  the 
papers  'd  stop  printin'  extrys." 


THE   TORN    TEN- DOLLAR   BILL.  155 

"I  wish  they  would,  then,"  remarked  the  Shiner. 
"I  got  stuck  with  second  edish'ns  yesterday. 
Couldn't  get  rid  of  'em  'fore  the  third  an'  fourth  was 

out." 

"  I  didn't,"  said  Kid.  " I  just  kept  on  hootin'  till  I 
sold  'em  all;  but  I  can't  hoot  wuth  a  cent  to-day." 

Barry  heard  guns  enough  that  day.  They  were 
fired  in  honor  of  the  Fourth  of  July  and  of  the  vic- 
tories, and  then  nobody  knew  what  the  rest  were  fired 
for ;  and  it  was  a  great  day  for  crackers  and  double- 
headers  and  Chinese  bombs. 

There  was  only  one  thing  that  seemed  to  put  a 
damper  on  the  patriotism  and  enthusiasm  of  the  city. 
It  was  not  the  dreadful  losses  in  the  battle.  Men 
spoke  of  them,  indeed,  and  there  was  mourning  in 
many  houses  and  bitter  anxiety  in  many  more ;  but 
there  was  ever}^'here  a  rumbling  undertone  of  mur- 
muring about  the  draft.  It  was  said  to  be  all  the 
more  sure  to  come,  so  that  the  war  could  be  finished 
quickly  now  General  Lee  had  been  defeated ;  and  all 
the  able-bodied  men  in  the  city  knew  that  their  names 
were  on  the  lists  and  would  be  put  into  the  draft  lot- 
tery-wheel. 

"It's  rough!"  remarked  Kid  to  Barry  and  the 
Shiner.  "How  would  you  like  to  have  to  wait  a 
whole  week  to  know  whether  or  not  you  was  took  for 
a  volunteer?" 


156  THE    BATTLE   OF    NEW   YORK. 

"Worst  kind!"  said  the  Shiner;  "and  loads  of  'em 
are  gettin'  killed,  now  they're  gettin'  up  these  big 
battles.  They  can't  run  away,  though.  Any  man 
that's  drafted  has  just  got  to  volunteer." 

Barry,  too,  was  thinking  of  the  whole  week  before 
the  draft,  but  he  had  yet  another  heavy  weight  upon 
his  mind.  He  knew  now,  and  his  mother  knew,  that 
his  father's  regiment  had  been  in  the  hottest  of  the 
battle  on  the  third  day.  It  had  distinguished  itself  in 
the  hand-to-hand  struggle  with  the  foremost  men  of 
General  Pickett's  grand  charge.  It  had,  of  course, 
lost  many  men  and  many  officers,  but  the  lists  of  the 
killed  and  wounded  had  not  yet  been  sent  on.  Of 
course  they  could  not  be  made  out  so  soon.  It  would 
be  days  before  there  could  be  a  complete  muster-roll  of 
any  considerable  part  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

"Mother  won't  tell  me  what  she  thinks,  "said  Barry 
to  himself;  "but  I'm  almost  sure  I  heard  her  say,  'If 
he's  alive  he'd  send  me  a  telegram  to  let  me  know  it. '  " 
And  Barry  added,  with  an  icy  shiver  running  all  over 
him,  "Does  that  mean  that  father  was  killed  in  that 
fight  on  the  hill?" 

"Barry!"  shouted  Kid  a  moment  later,  "where're 
you  goin'?  There'll  be  more  extrys  out  'fore  long. 
It's  only  four  'clock!" 

"Going  home,"  said  Barry,  wearily.  "I've  had 
enough  Fourth  o'  July." 


THE   TORN    TEN-DOLLAR   BILL.  157 

"So  have  I,"  said  Kid,  in  almost  a  tone  of  sympa- 
thy; "but  as  long's  there's  more  'dish'ns  comin'  I'll 
stick  here  and  sell  'em." 

So  said  the  Shiner,  as  if  they  had  been  news-soldiers, 
put  there  as  sentries,  determined  not  to  desert  their 
post. 

The  next  day  was  Sunday,  and  it  seemed  a  re- 
markably solemn  and  quiet  one  everywhere.  A  long 
and  trying  suspense  was  in  great  part  over,  and  people 
felt  a  kind  of  slow  reaction  that  told  them  how  excited 
they  had  been. 

In  Mrs.  Bedding's  boarding-house  there  was  some- 
thing more  at  work. 

"Barry, "said  Lilian  after  breakfast,  "are  we  going 
to  church  to-day?" 

"There!"  exclaimed  Barry;  "that's  the  first  time 
you've  spoken  to  me  for  more'n  a  week.  Yes,  I  guess 
we  are." 

"Why,  no,  it  isn't,"  she  said.  "I  have  spoken  to 
you  before;  I'm  sure  I  have — again  and  again!" 

"Well,  I  wasn't  there,  then,"  said  Barry.  "What 
makes  your  eyes  so  red?  I  don't  believe  they'd  have 
let  a  boy  like  Dave " 

"Why,  Barry!"  exclaimed  Lilian;  "didn't  I  tell 
you?  We  read  it  in  the  paper  you  brought  up  last 
night.  The  first  Southern  brigade  to  reach  the  crest 
of    the   hill,  among   your   batteries,   was  my   Uncle 


158  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW   YORK. 

John's   brigade.     It  was  all  but   destroyed.     We're 
afraid  Dave  was  with  him;"  and  Lilian  cried  again. 

"My  father  was  there,  too,"  groaned  Barry. 

There  was  something  he  thought  he  had  never 
heard  before  in  the  tone  with  which  Mrs.  Redding 
interrupted  him  to  say : 

"Lilian,  dear,  is  your  mother  in  her  room?  I'm 
coming  right  up." 

"  I  don't  believe  it !"  again  exclaimed  Barry.  "  Dave 
wasn't  there.  I'll  go  to  church.  Come,  Lilian — do 
come!  Best  thing  we  could  do!  Let's  get  out  of 
doors!" 

It  seemed  to  Barry  as  if  he  understood  more  about 
a  battle  the  moment  he  thought  of  Dave  and  not  of  a 
whole  regiment  of  men  in  uniform.  It  made  it  real; 
and  when  he  thought  of  a  boy  he  knew — a  boy  of  his 
own  age  and  size — being  shot,  or  sabred,  or  bayoneted 
in  such  a  fight  as  the  papers  told  of,  something  like  a 
picture  of  it  flashed  through  his  mind.  Of  course  it 
excited  him,  and  it  was  a  good  thing  that  he  had 
somebody  to  sympathize  with. 

"Ill  come  as  soon  as  I  can  get  ready,"  said  Lilian. 
"I  do  hope  your  father  isn't  hurt,  nor  my  Uncle 
John — nor ' ' 

"Dave  wasn't  there!"  persisted  Barry.  "You've 
just  as  good  a  nght  to  believe  he  wasn't,  as  to  believe 
he  was.     Besides,  I'm  sure  he  wasn't." 


THE    TORN   TEN- DOLLAR    BILL.  159 

That  was  precisely  the  doctrine  his  mother  was 
trying  to  preach  to  Mrs.  Randolph,  and  she  was  partly 
successful. 

"You  do  me  ever  so  much  good,  anyhow,"  said  Mrs. 
Randolph.  "Are  Lilian  and  Barry  going  to  church? 
I'm  glad  of  it.     It's  hard  enough  for  both  of  them." 

"It  is,  indeed!"  said  Mrs.  Redding. 

"Just  think  of  it!"  continued  her  friend,  very 
thoughtfully.  "Mrs.  Redding,  what  have  they,  and 
you  and  I,  to  do  with  this  dreadful  business?" 

When  Sunday  had  gone  by,  and  Monday  also,  and 
the  business  hours  arrived  of  Tuesday,  the  Yth,  there 
was  a  remarkable  scene — almost  unseen — in  the  par- 
lor-office of  a  downtown  banking-house. 

"What  is  it,  Mr.  Simpson?" 

"That — ah — that — young  fellow  Randolph " 

"Show  him  in." 

There  stood  the  banker — pale,  trembling  in  every 
limb,  as  if  under  almost  overpowering  nervous  agita- 
tion; for  Davis  did  not  look  at  all  like  a  bearer  of 
good  tidings.  To  be  sure,  his  neat  blue  suit  was 
brushed  clean  of  dust,  and  there  was  no  fault  to  be 
found  with  his  appearance  generally  or  his  manners. 
In  one  hand  he  carried,  all  rolled  up,  what  seemed  to 
be  two  American  flags,  on  staffs  of  different  styles. 
The  wrapper-flag,  at  least,  had  a  look  of  service. 

Mr.  Vernon  stared  at  it  and  at  Dave,  but  seemed  to 


160  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

be  waiting  anxiously  for  something  more.  Dave's 
face  grew  more  and  more  mournful,  as  he  jDut  down 
the  flags  and  took  out  his  pocket-book.  Out  of  that  he 
drew  a  Confederate  ten-dollar  bill,  and,  as  General  Lee 
had  bidden  him,  he  slowly  tore  it  across  the  middle, 
both  wa3's,  and  silently  handed  all  but  one  of  the 
pieces  to  Mr.  Vernon,  one  by  one. 

"  'The  battle  is  lost, '  "  said  the  banker,  as  if  reading 
a  message.  "  'I  shall  retreat  across  the  Potomac.  No 
rising  of  our  people  in  New  York. '  No,  no,  my  boy ! 
he  didn't  say  that?"  for  Dave  had  crumpled  up  the 
last  quarter  of  the  bill  and  had  thrown  it  on  the  floor. 

"It's  just  what  General  Lee  did,"  he  said.  "  I  have 
followed  him  exactly." 

"  The  last  hope  of  the  Confederacy  has  been  thrown 
away!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Vernon.  "Have  you  seen 
your  mother?  No — of  course  not.  Go  see  her,  then. 
Come  in  from  day  to  day  and  see  me.  I  feel  all  broken 
down.  There  was  more  in  your  message  than  you 
knew." 

Dave  hardly  knew  that  he  had  himself  been  crying, 
but  he  did  not  show  any  tears  to  Mr.  Simpson  when 
he  now  hurried  through  the  outer  office.  Nobody 
there,  nor  anybody  else  whom  he  met  after  getting 
out  into  the  street,  seemed  to  have  the  least  idea  that 
he  was  a  messenger  from  the  great  battle-field — a 
bearer  of  dispatches  from  the  Confederate  commander- 


t<sm 


Dave  delivers  Ge7ieral  Lee's  message  to  Mr.  Vernon. 


THE    TORN    TEN-DOLLAR    BILL.  161 

in -chief.  He  was  nothing  but  a  boy.  Somebody  had 
sent  him  uptown  with  some  old  flag  or  other. 

But  among  them  all  the  flags  in  New  York  that  day 
were  none  like  those  which  Dave  was  carrying  so  care- 
fully. He  took  them  into  a  street-car  near  the  City 
Hall,  and  he  did  not  hear  a  voice  that  said : 

"I  saw  him!  That's  Dave!  Kid!  you  and  the 
Shiner  sell  the  rest  of  my  papers !  I'm  going  home. 
1  can  catch  the  next  car  but  one." 

"What  is  it,  Barry?"  asked  Kid  eagerly.  "Isn't 
it  the  same  feller?" 

"I  can't  stop  to  talk,"  said  Barry,  as  he  handed 
them  quite  a  supply  of  the  latest  "extra"  newspapers. 
"I'll  know  more  after  I've  seen  him." 

" Guess  he  wasn't  in  the  battle,"  said  the  Shiner; 
but  Barry  was  gone  on  a  run. 

He  did  not  catch  the  next  car,  nor  the  next,  how- 
ever ;  and  the  one  he  did  catch  seemed  to  him  the 
slowest,  longest-stopping,  hottest,  meanest  street-car 
he  had  ever  travelled  in.  It  could  not  even  jump  the 
rails  and  catch  up  with  the  third  car  ahead  and  bring 
him  home  at  the  same  time  with  Dave.  Of  course 
Barry  ran  after  leaving  the  car;  but  then  Dave  him- 
self made  very  good  speed — three  cars  earlier — at  that 
same  place.  There  was  no  overtaking.  There  was  a 
sharp  ring  at  Mrs.  Eedding'sdoor;  and  when  it  opened 
there  was  a  loud : 


163  THE   BATTLE    OF   NEW    YORK. 

"Bress  yer  soul,  honey!  dey's  a-comiiiM     Bress  de 
Lord,  you's  not  hurt!     Eeckon  dey'll  all  bress  him!" 
Diana  Lee's  pious  thankfulness  was  genuine,  hut  it 
was   loud.      The   next   outburst   was   utterly   silent. 
Even  Lilian  could  not  say  a  word  that  anybody  else 
could  understand.     It  was  one  moment  only  of  weep- 
ing, hugging,  laughing;  and  then: 
"You  were  in  the  battle,  Dave?" 
"Yes,  Lilian,"  said  Dave,  "all  through  it." 

"  We  know  how  it  went.     Your  Uncle  John " 

"Mother!"  exclaimed  Dave,  "that's  what  I  was 
afraid  you  would  ask  me.  I  haven't  seen  him  since 
the  third  day  of  the  battle.  I  came  up  here  under 
orders.  That  letter  is  to  you."  He  rapidly  told  how 
he  had  received  the  first  of  his  letters.  He  had  even 
handed  his  roll  of  flags  to  Lilian,  and  was  explaining 
the  meaning  of  it  all. 

"  A  flag  of  honor  from  General  Lee!"  she  shouted. 

"Why,  it's  worth  a  million  dollars!     The  other  flag?" 

" Lilian, "  said  Dave,   "that's  sacred  too.     See  the 

red  spots  on  the  white?     That's  from  the  battle-field. 

I'll  tell  you " 

"May  I  have  it?"  asked  the  voice  of  some  one 
behind  him.  "Hurrah,  Dave!  I  saw  you  get  on  the 
car.  Ain't  I  glad  you  got  back  safe!  Thank  you!" 
for  Dave  handed  him  the  Stars  and  Stripes ;  but  before 
any  more  could  be  said  by  Barry  it  was  Dave's  turn : 


THE    TORN    TEN  DOLLAR    BILL.  163 

"Mrs.  Redding,  I  saw  the  captain!  I've  a  letter. 
He's  wounded  just  enough  to  send  him  home  pretty 
soon  on  furlough." 

She  had  already  been  trying  very  hard  to  ask  for 
news,  and  now  that  such  an  answer  had  been  given 
without  asking,  all  she  could  do  was  to  tear  open  the 
envelope. 

"Written  the  day  the  battle  began,"  she  said,  " be- 
fore his  brigade  went  in.  What's  this?"  and  she  read 
aloud.  "'The  inclosed  letter — Confederate  general — 
died  lying  by  me,  on  the  crest  of  Round-top — third 
day.'  Why,  Mrs.  Randolph!"  continued  Mrs.  Red- 
ding, "my  husband  must  have  written  that  on  the 
outside  of  your  letter  and  inclosed  it  in  mine!  Take 
it.  It's  all  spotted  with  blood  I"  she  said  with  a 
shiver. 

Mrs.  Randolph  took  it  and  opened  it,  and  seemed  to 
begin  reading  it  in  silence,  but  she  came  to  something 
that  made  her  read  aloud : 

"  '  I  shall  send  this  only  in  case  of  my  approaching 

death.     If  you  receive  it,  therefore '  "  she  paused, 

and  it  was  Davis  who  exclaimed : 

"I  thought  so!  Uncle  John  is  dead!  I  saw  his 
brigade  go  into  the  fire;  and  they  seemed  to  melt 
away." 

"Come,  children!"  said  his  mother;  "come  with 
me!"     And  very  quietly  they  left  the  room. 


164  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

"0  Barry!"  said  Mrs.  Eedding,  "I  am  so  thank- 
ful— so  thankful  about  your  father !  We  ought  to  be 
glad,  too,  that  Davis  wasn't  hurt.  Their  poor  uncle! 
I'm  so  sorry  for  them  and  for  him!" 

"Isn't  Dave  a  great  fellow,  though?"  said  Barry. 
"Just  think!  he  saw  the  whole  battle!  Wasn't  it 
strange,  too,  that  he  saw  father  and  talked  with 
him?  It's  better  than  any  telegram — better 'n  even  a 
letter!" 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE   DRAFT   RISING   IN   NEW   YORK. 

'T  about  the  end  of  any  long,  dark  piece  of 
bad  and  stormy  weather  there  is  apt  to 
come  a  sudden  gust  and  a  fierce  dash  of 
rain.  It  is  the " clearing-up  shower;"  and 
after  it  is  over  there  is  generally  a  prospect 
for  blue  skies  and  sunshine. 
The  return  of  Davis  Randolph  was  marked  by  a  day 
of  household  weather  that  was  both  gusty  and  rainy. 
He  was  glad  to  be  there,  but  he  had  not  by  any  means 
recovered  good  spirits.  Still,  it  was  a  kind  of  relief 
to  sit  and  talk  about  the  battle  and  tell  the  wonderful 
story  of  all  that  he  had  seen  or  heard  or  knew.  He 
could  explain  some  things  that  were  in  the  news- 
papers; and  it  soon  became  clear  how  Captain  Red- 
ding and  General  Randolph  met  as  they  did.  They 
listened  almost  breathlessly  while  he  described  the 
battle-field,  the  village  of  Gettysburg,  the  larger  and 
smaller  hills  and  ridges,  and  the  valleys  and  woods, 
streams  and  roads  over  and  among  which  the  two 
great  hosts  of  brave  men  had  contended  for  the  fate 

165 


IGG  THE    BATTLE    OF   NEW   YORK. 

of  a  nation.  He  grew  excited  as  he  went  on ;  and  so 
did  they.  The  two  flags  he  had  brought  with  him 
were  a  stirring  story  themselves ;  and  LiHan  brought 
them  out  while  he  told  about  them.  Just  as  Davis 
was  relating  his  last  interview  with  General  Lee,  after 
the  failure  of  Pickett's  grand  charge,  Barry  seemed 
to  wake  up  suddenly,  as  if  he  had  been  dreaming 
about  the  battle. 

"Why,  Dave!"  he  exclaimed,  "what  message  could 
General  Lee  have  to  send  to  New  York?  He  isn't 
coming  here?" 

Dave  had  very  nearly  said  too  much  already ;  and 
he  replied : 

"  Well,  I  did  not  know  what  it  was  exactly,  except 
that  I  was  to  carry  it.  It  wasn't  anything  that  could 
injure  your  side." 

"Nothing  he  could  say  to  anybody  here  could  hurt 
us,"  said  Barry.  "I'm  glad  you  got  away,  anyhow. 
Wish  I'd  been  where  you  have!" 

"Dave  is  quite  a  hero,"  remarked  Mrs.  Redding. 
"I  am  very,  very  sorry  about  your  Uncle  John." 

"I'm  real  sorry  about  Captain  Redding's  leg,  too," 
said  Dave.  "  It's  pretty  hard  for  him,  but  the  sur- 
geon said  positively  that  he  would  get  well  right 
along." 

"I  suppose  it  is  almost  wicked  of  me,"  said  Mrs. 
Redding;  "but  I'm  glad  my  husband  is  wounded — 


THE    DRAFT    RISING    IN    NEW  YORK.  167 

a  little — so  it  will  send  him  home  and  keep  him 
here." 

"That's  just  the  way  I  feel,"  said  Barry,  with 
energy. 

"It  does  seem  to  be  the  best  thing  for  him,  and  for 
you  too, "said  Mrs.  Eandolph.  "He  won't  be  there  if 
they're  going  to  fight  again." 

So  far  as  that  household  was  concerned,  perhaps 
Dave's  return  was  something  like  a  clearing-up 
shower ;  but  the  general  political  weather  of  the  city, 
if  it  had  improved  at  all,  had  "cleared  up  cloudy." 

It  was  true  that  army  matters  looked  promising. 
The  victories  in  both  the  East  and  West  were  glorious, 
and  they  had  stirred  up  all  the  patriotism  and  all  the 
hope  there  was  in  the  countr}^ ;  but  the  army  under 
General  Lee  fell  back  slowly  and  stubbornly  after 
Gettysburg.  It  was  only  too  evident  that  the  war 
was  by  no  means  over.  Therefore,  it  was  speedily 
understood  that  the  draft  would  be  enforced  without 
mercy,  and  that  the  government  would  take  all  the 
men  it  wanted,  without  reference  to  anything  but  the 
filling  up  of  the  army.  That  is,  the  citizens  of  a  free 
republic  were  to  be  treated,  in  order  to  save  the  life 
of  that  republic,  just  as  if  they  had  been  so  many 
Germans,  or  Frenchmen,  or  Eussians,  or  citizens  of 
the  Southern  Confederacy;  for  all  of  those  people 
were  already  accustomed  at  home  to  a  more  severe 


168  THE   BATTLE   OF   NEW    YORK. 

conscription,  or  draft,  than  our  own  government  pro- 
posed. 

It  was  a  great  weight  pressing  down  upon  every- 
body all  over  the  country.  Nowhere  else  was  its 
pressure  more  severely  felt  than  in  the  city  itself, 
from  which  the  war  office  at  Washington  asked  for 
over  twenty-five  thousand  men.  Tliere  were  two 
hundred  thousand  on  the  city  draft  lists,  but  so  many 
of  these  were  unfit  for  soldiers  that  about  every  fifth 
man  fit  for  duty  would  have  to  go.  Mr.  Palovski  and 
his  friends  made  it  look  much  worse;  for  they  said 
that  all  men  rich  enough  to  pay  three  hundred  dollars, 
or  to  hire  a  substitute,  would  be  let  off,  with  all  the 
doctors  and  ministers,  and  a  great  many  other  exempt 
men ;  so  that  the  load  would  be  borne  by  poor  fellows 
like  himself,  who  were  not  in  favor  of  the  Lincoln 
government  at  all. 

Barry  heard  him,  and  so  did  Dave,  several  times 
during  that  heavy,  gloomy  week  before  the  draft ;  but 
they  heard  another  way  of  looking  at  it,  too.  They 
heard  a  returned  volunteer  say  to  Palovski : 

"  Five  hundred  men  in  my  regiment  died  for  their 
country,  first  and  last.  Every  man  gave  his  life — 
gave  it — do  you  understand  ? — gave  it !  Fellows  like 
you  are  not  willing  to  give  a  drop  of  your  blood  or  a 
cent  of  your  money.  You  know  you  can  have  your 
exemption  money  paid  for  you.     What  you  want  is 


THE    DRAFT    RISING    IN    NEW    YORK.  169 

to  have  other  men  die  in  your  place,  or  pay  in  your 
place,  and  let  you  out.  You  are  not  fit  to  have  a 
country — not  this  country!" 

"We  are  opposed  to  the  goffernment, "  replied 
Palovski.  "We  are  opposed  to  the  war.  It  is  not 
our  war," 

"Then  you  ought  all  to  be  shot,  anyhow, "  responded 
the  veteran.  "  No  man  has  any  business  in  America 
that  is  an  enemy  of  America.  I  wish  you  could  all 
be  drafted  and  stationed  out  where  Stuart's  cavalry 
were  just  going  to  charge,  or  in  front  of  one  of  Long- 
street's  batteries." 

He  shook  his  fist  and  walked  away,  but  the  boys 
felt  better. 

"Fellows  like  Palovski  can  make  anything  sound 
right,"  said  Dave;  "but  if  any  man  down  South  talked 
against  our  government  as  he  does  against  yours  we'd 
shut  him  up.     He's  a  traitor,  and  ought  to  be  shot." 

"Well,"  said  Barry,  "it's  rough  to  hear  him  go  on; 
but  there  isn't  any  war  here  in  the  city.  We  couldn't 
shoot  him." 

"We  would, "said  Dave.  "Besides,  isn't  there  war 
here?     Didn't  Palovski  say  there  was  going  to  be?" 

"They  won't  dare  to  really  do  anything,"  said 
Barry;  "but  I  tell  you  what!  I  won't  sell  papers  to- 
morrow  morning.     Ifs  the   first   day  of  the   draft. 

Let's  go  and  see  it  done!" 
12 


170  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Dave  was  ready  enough ;  for  that  was  Friday  even- 
ing, and  all  the  papers  had  been  full  of  accounts  of 
the  preparations  made  for  what  Palovski  called  "  the 
blood  lottery,"  when  he  grew  very  fierce. 

"How  I  wish  I  could  go  and  see  how  it's  done!" 
remarked  Lilian,  thoughtfully.  "It  seems  dreadful 
to  have  any  mere  chance  about  it!" 

"But  they've  got  to  go,"  said  Dave,  "How  will 
the  losses  at  Gettysburg  and  all  the  other  battles  be 
made  up,  if  President  Lincoln  doesn't  enforce  the 
Draft  Act?" 

"Why,  Dave,"  said  Barry,  "that  sounds  as  if  you 
were  on  our  side!" 

"No,  I'm  not!"  exclaimed  Davis;  "but  then  war  is 
war,  and  if  they  won't  go  they've  got  to  be  made 
to  go." 

"That's  so,"  said  Barry.  "Somebody's  got  to  take 
my  father's  place  for  a  while." 

Saturday  morning  came.  It  was  just  one  week 
since  Vicksburg  surrendered.  Just  one  week  since 
the  army  under  General  Lee  recoiled  from  before  the 
Federal  batteries  at  Gettysburg.  Not  one  of  the  reg- 
iments of  city  militia  which  had  gone  into  that  cam- 
paign had  yet  returned.  All  the  morning  newspapers 
had  something  to  say  about  the  draft,  of  course ;  but 
they  all  said  that  everything  was  and  would  be  peace- 
ful.    So  said  the  city  authorities. 


THE    DRAFT    RISING    IN    NEW  YORK.  171 

When  Barry  and  Davis  went  over  to  Third  Avenue, 
to  the  draft-office  where  the  first  drawing  of  men  was 
to  be  done,  it  seemed  to  them  that  the  appearance 
of  things  there  was  as  peaceful  as  could  have  been 
expected.  Up  and  down  the  avenue,  and  in  the  cross- 
streets  near  the  office-buildings,  there  were,  of  course, 
crowds  of  men  and  some  women.  They  were,  for 
the  greater  part,  poorly  dressed,  and  they  wore  anx- 
ious faces ;  but  they  did  not  seem  to  be  at  all  excited. 

"Come  on,  Dave,"  said  Barry.  "We  must  manage 
to  get  a  look  at  the  draft  lottery-wheel.  I  want  to 
see  how  it's  done." 

" So  do  I,"  replied  Dave.     " Go  ahead." 

There  were  policemen  on  duty,  but  no  one  prevented 
them  from  going  into  the  draft-office.  There  it  was 
almost  too  quiet,  considering  how  important  was  the 
work  the  very  business-like  officials  were  doing.  The 
fact  was  that  everybody  in  that  room  was  listening  so 
closely  to  know  what  names  were  drawn  that  people 
almost  went  about  on  tiptoe. 

"How  many  are  drawn  now,  Tom?"  asked  a  low, 
harsh  whisper ;  but  the  boys  heard  it. 

"Only  about  three  hundred,"  replied  much  such 
another  whisper.  "Let  them  finish  the  day.  The 
men  don't  feel  it  yet.  Not  enough.  They  won't 
until  after  they're  drawn." 

"Och    hone!    Pat   Ryan,    you're    dhrafted!      An' 


172  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

what'll  I  do  wid  six  children?"  broke  the  silence  dole- 
fully at  that  moment,  as  Pat's  name  was  called  out 
at  the  wheel. 

"Kathleen,"  came  back  as  dolefully,  "it's  meself 
don't  know.  I'm  just  the  mon  for  a  volunteer, 
though,  and  I've  no  three  hundred  to  buy  off  wid." 

"  Oh,  the  children !"  cried  Mrs.  Ryan,  as  she  and  Pat 
moved  slowly  toward  the  door. 

"Howld  still,  till  I  know  me  luck,"  replied  a  stal- 
wart young  fellow  close  by  them.  "If  I'm  not 
drawn,  I'll  go  in  Pat's  place." 

"  All  the  saints  bless  the  thrue,  brave  heart  of  ye, 
Dinnis  Mulligan,"  began  Mrs.  Ryan,  in  a  voice  that 
was  rich  with  gratitude,  but  at  that  very  moment 
the  remorseless  guardian  of  the  draft  lottery-wheel 
called  out  "Dennis  Mulligan!" 

A  sort  of  suppressed  growl  of  dissatisfaction,  if  not 
of  anger,  seemed  to  roll  around  the  crowd,  which 
nearly  filled  the  office. 

"0  Dennis!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Ryan.  "You're 
dhrawn!  Now  what'll  ye  do?  And  what'll  your 
mother  do?  Pat'll  make  a  mighty  good  volunteer, 
though,  and  so  will  yersilf." 

"'Dade,  an'  we'll  do  our  duty,"  said  Pat.  "It's 
not  for  the  likes  of  us  to  show  the  white  feather. 
Come  along,  Kathleen.  Mebbe  I  can  get  out  of  it  yet, 
but  I'm  no  deserter." 


THE    DRAFT    RISING    IN    NEW    YORK.  173 

"  All  right,  boys,"  said  a  heavy, well-dressed  man  near 
the  wheel,  "  I'll  see  that  Pat's  exemption  is  paid  for 
him  if  Dennis  goes." 

The  growl  changed  its  tone  somewhat,  but  a  dozen 
expressions  of  it  were  only  good-will  toward  the  big 
man — not  toward  the  draft. 

"Barry,"  whispered  Dave,  "come  along.  We've 
seen  it  all.  Those  two  will  make  good  soldiers, 
though." 

"And  so  that's  all  there  is  of  the  draft,"  remarked 
Barry,  when  they  were  outside  again.  "Well,  it's 
quiet  enough.     I  don't  believe  there'll  be  any  fuss." 

"Maybe  it  will  stay  quiet  and  maybe  it  won't," 
said  Dave,  looking  at  the  discontented  faces  of  the 
crowd.     "Some  of  those  fellows  look  awful  ugly." 

Barry  rode  downtown,  thinking  a  great  deal  about 
the  draft.  It  seemed  right,  but  it  seemed  pretty 
hard.  Dave  rode  homeward  after  leaving  Barry,  and 
he,  too,  was  thinking;  for,  as  he  got  out  of  his  street- 
car, he  remarked : 

"I  guess  there  won't  be  any  rising.  If  there  is, 
General  Lee  hasn't  anything  to  do  with  it.  None  of 
our  friends  here  will  have  anything  to  do  with  it." 

That  might  be  true  of  such  clear-headed  friends  of 
the  South  as  was  Mr.  Mapleson,  but  a  professed  friend 
w^as  even  then  doing  an  imprudent  kind  of  thing.  A 
man  with  a  wolfish-looking  face  was  pointing  at  the 


174  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

house  in  which  Mrs.  Redding  lived,  and  was  saying 
to  another  man  who  walked  at  his  side : 

"Hunker,  didn't  you  tell  me  there  were  colored 
people  in  that  house  of  yours,  and  a  lot  of  aboli- 
tionists?" 

"Worst  kind!"  rej)lied  Mr.  Hunker.  "I've  tried 
to  get  'em  aout " 


"That's  the  place,"  said  his  companion.  "One  big 
black  woman,  our  fellows  say,  and  one  black  boy. 
Are  there  any  more?" 

"I  don't  know,"  replied  Mr.  Hunker.  "I  don't 
care,  neither.  I  was  going  to  have  them  put  aout 
if — well,  you  know  haow.  You  see,  I  let  it  to  that 
Redding  woman  too  low " 

The  only  reply  was  an  exclamation  that  sounded 
almost  like  a  bark,  for  they  were  about  to  separate  on 
the  corner. 

Mr.  Hunker  went  one  way  grumbling: 

"I  daon't  see  haow  I'm  to  do  it,  the  way  things  is 
turning.  It's  throwin'  away  money  to  let  her  keep 
that  haouse." 

The  other  man  went  his  own  way,  but  he  was 
grumbling  more  savagely : 

"Landlord?  Owns  that  house  and  a  lot  of  other 
houses?  Every  landlord  in  the  city  ought  to  be  hung 
to  a  lamp-post.     Every  nigger,  too.     We'll  get  things 


THE    DRAFT    RISING    IN    NEW   YORK.  175 

level  after  a  while,"  and  his  teeth  came  together  as  if 
he  were  snapping  at  something. 

Again  Mr.  Hunker,  on  the  other  street,  remarked 
with  an  injured  air: 

"Abaout  the  first  time  I  was  ever  turned  aout  of  a 
haouse  that  belonged  to  me.  I'll  get  even  with  Mrs. 
Redding  yet.  I  daon't  care  nothin'  much  'baout 
black  fellows.  'Tisn't  my  business  if  Captain  Red- 
ding got  waounded.  He  hadn't  ort  to  ha'  been  there. 
No,  I  daon't  reckon  they'd  have  the  impidence  to  draft 
me.     I  daon't  belong  to  the  lower  classes,  nohaow." 

That  was  not  the  only  remark  he  made  as  he 
walked  along  to  indicate  his  notions  that  a  part  of 
the  human  race  was  fit  to  be  drafted,  to  be  made  sol- 
diers of,  or  to  be  worked  up  in  any  way,  like  wood  or 
stone,  while  another  and  higher  part  of  the  race, 
owning  houses  and  money,  like  himself,  for  instance, 
was  much  too  precious  to  be  wasted  in  any  such 
manner. 

One  difficulty  about  that  Saturday  was  that  it  was 
so  intensely  excited  that  it  seemed  positively  dull. 
Even  the  boys  did  not  seem  to  care  to  talk,  but  after 
Barry  got  home  at  night,  he  said : 

"  Mother,  Kid  and  I  and  the  Shiner  made  about  the 
poorest  day  yet.  Nobody  seems  to  care  what  the 
news  is." 


176  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

"I  don't  either,"  said  Mrs.  Redding;  "but  I've  an- 
other telegram  from  your  father.  He  will  be  out  of 
bed  in  two  weeks." 

"Hurrah!"  shouted  Barry,  but  his  mother's  face 
still  wore  an  anxious  look. 

"  Oh,  dear !"  she  said.  "  If  he  only  hadn't  to  go  back ! 
He  will  come  home  and  get  well,  but  he's  to  be  pro- 
moted lieutenant-colonel,  or  colonel,  or  something, 
and  as  soon  as  he  gets  well  he'll  think  it's  his  duty. 
I  wish  he  would  come  home  for  good." 

"Isn't  that  splendid!"  exclaimed  Lilian,  thinking 
only  of  the  promotion,  and  Barry  felt  that  his  sympa- 
thies, including  his  pride  as  a  young  soldier,  were 
with  her  rather  than  with  his  mother.  He  did  not 
say  so,  and  his  next  remark  was : 

"  Mother,  if  there  is  going  to  be  any  trouble  about 
the  draft,  I'm  glad  we  bought  those  pistols." 

"To-morrow  will  be  Sunday,  anyhow,"  she  said, 
and  they  were  all  glad  that  it  was  Saturday  evening, 
with  one  draft-day  ended. 

Hardly  any  of  the  sober-minded,  church-going  peo- 
ple of  New  York  knew  how  much  was  done  about 
the  draft  on  Sunday,  the  twelfth  of  July,  for  almost 
all  of  it  was  secret  work,  behind  closed  doors.  Dark- 
ness came  on  slowly  after  the  late  mid-summer  sunset, 
and  as  it  came  the  alarm-bells  rang  for  a  fire.  The 
signal  was  promptly  responded  to  by  fire  companies. 


THE    DRAFT   RISING    IN    NEW   YORK.  177 

with  their  engines  and  their  hose  and  hook-and-ladder 
carts.  They  gathered  with  a  great  rattle  to  put  out 
the  fire ;  but  so  did  throngs  of  men  and  boys,  who 
seemed  to  have  come  only  to  make  disturbances. 

About  thirty  minutes  after  the  first,  a  second  alarm 
sounded,  and  people  said:  "Fires  are  apt  to  be  fre- 
quent in  such  hot  weather  as  this  is."  But  windows 
were  thrown  up  hurriedly  and  faces  looked  out  anx- 
iously. It  was  '"Fire!  Fire!  Fire!"  again  and 
again. 

Nobody  doubted  but  what  the  fire  companies  would 
do  their  duty  as  usual.  So  they  did ;  but  there  was 
yet  another  and  another  fire  that  night,  and  all  were 
pretty  large  blazes.  Barry  and  Dave  went  out  to 
look  at  them,  and  came  home  talking  about  the  crowds 
of  remarkably  ugly-looking  fellows  they  had  seen. 
Other  observers  reported  the  same  thing,  and  respect- 
able people  generally  w^ent  to  bed  that  night  full  of 
feverish  apprehensions  about  the  next  day  and  the 
draft. 

The  dawn  of  Monday  found  several  smoking  heaps 
of  ashes  and  ruins,  but  among  the  people  themselves 
it  might  have  discovered  signs  of  quite  another  kind 
of  fire  that  seemed  about  ready  to  kindle. 

There  were  to  be  a  number  of  draft  lotteries  in 
offices  in  the  several  districts  of  the  city.  All  were 
expected  to  begin  work  at  the  same  hour,  and  around 


178  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

each  of  them  a  crowd  collected,  long  before  the  time 
api^ointed. 

'"Hullo,  Palovski!"  said  Barry  as  they  met  in  front 
of  the  barber-shop.  "Did  you  have  any  luck  on 
Saturday?" 

"I  was  draft!"  shouted  Palovski  furiously.  "But 
I  will  not  go !  The  time  for  the  people  to  strike  the 
goffernment  is  come!     You  will  see!" 

"Come  on,  Barry,"  exclaimed  Dave.  "Let's  go  to 
the  Third  Avenue  draft-office.  He  and  his  friends  are 
going  to  do  something." 

"Come  on!"  said  Barry,  and  their  excitement  grew 
fast  as  they  ran  toward  the  office  they  had  looked 
into  on  Saturday.  When  they  drew  near  it,  they 
saw  at  once  that  there  was  a  changed  state  of  things. 
The  crowd  was  much  larger,  denser ;  there  were  few 
women  to  be  seen,  while  the  draft-office  seemed  to  be 
filled  with  stalwart  policemen. 

"I  heard  somebody  say  there  were  sixty  of  them," 
said  Barry.     "That's  enough,  I  guess." 

"Only  sixty?"  exclaimed  Dave.  "All  cooped  uj)  in 
there?  Get  back,  Barry!  Back!  Out  of  the  way! 
See!     There's  a  charge  coming!" 

A  charge?  It  was  very  much  like  a  storming-party 
pouring  into  a  captured  fort.  It  was  led  by  deter- 
mined men,  and  just  behind  them  were  the  well- 
trained,  strong-armed  members  of  a  "volunteer  fire 


THE    DRAFT    RISING    IN    NEW   YORK.  179 

company  "  of  the  roughest  kind.  Behind  them  surged 
all  the  hundreds  of  angry  fellows  who  had  gathered 
in  the  avenue. 

Barry  and  Dave  had  escaped  being  caught  in  that 
rush  of  shouting,  yelling,  desperate  rioters.  From 
where  they  stood  they  could  not  see  into  the  draft - 
office,  but  they  saw  the  "  storming-party"  crush  their 
way  in,  and  knevv^  that  the  sixty  policemen  had  been 
swept  like  chaff  by  force  of  numbers. 

"Barry !"  suddenly  exclaimed  Dave.  "Look  down 
the  avenue!     Bayonets!'' 

"Invalid  Corps,"  said  Barry.  "The  papers  said 
they  would  be  here.  What?  DaA^e!  The  mob  is 
stoning  them!" 

The  Invalid  Corps  did  not  exactly  deserve  its  name, 
and  yet  it  did.  A  soldier  of  the  old-time  volunteers 
who  had  lost  one  eye  in  battle  might  see  well  enough 
with  the  other.  If  he  had  lost  his  left  arm,  his  right 
might  still  be  strong.  He  might  be  unfitted  for  severe 
marches  and  field  service,  and  yet  be  very  well  able 
to  mount  guard  in  one  of  the  forts  of  the  North,  or 
at  a  hospital,  or  a  prison-camp.  Besides,  there  was 
a  kind  of  justice  in  letting  him  serve  out  his  term  of 
enlistment,  drawing  his  regular  pay  and  rations  in- 
stead of  a  pension.  It  supported  him  while  it  per- 
mitted vigorous  men  to  go  to  the  armies  in  the  field 
while  the  Invalid  Corps  did  the  "guard  duty." 


180  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

So,  no  fighting  being  expected,  a  regiment  of  about 
five  hundred  of  these  brave  fellows,  camped  upon 
Governor's  Island,  had  been  ordered  over  to  the  city 
to  serve  in  small  detachments  as  a  sort  of  parade - 
guard  at  the  several  places  where  the  draft  was  to  go 
on.  They  could,  indeed,  have  been  of  real  service  if 
posted  inside  of  a  building ;  but  they  had  no  idea  of 
being  attacked  in  the  open  street  while  on  their 
march. 

Soldiers  they  were,  however;  and  in  the  eyes  of  the 
excited  mob,  they  personally  represented  the  war,  the 
government,  and  the  draft  itself.  The  detachment 
sent  to  duty  at  the  Third  Avenue  office  consisted  of 
one  company  only,  and  it  had  nearly  reached  its  des- 
tination when  it  suddenly  found  its  farther  advance 
blocked  by  a  yelling  throng  that  quickly  surged  all 
around  it  and  hemmed  it  in. 

It  was  at  this  moment  that  the  first  attention  of 
Dave  and  Barry  was  attracted. 

"Hear  that  volley?"  exclaimed  Dave. 

The  brave  fellows  had  indeed  fired,  not  into  the 
mob,  but  over  their  heads;  and  the  next  shower  of 
stones  that  poured  upon  them  was  accompanied  by 
shouts  of  derision,  for  the  firing  without  hitting  any- 
body had  been  a  mistaken  mercy. 

"There's  hardly  anything  of  them,"  replied  Barry. 
"They're  going  down!     The  mob  has  got  them!" 


THE    DRAFT    RISING    IN    NEW   YORK.  181 

"Too  bad!"  almost  yelled  Dave.  "They'll  all  be 
murdered!     See  that  one?     What  a  shame!" 

Swept,  scattered,  knocked  down,  and  now  unarmed, 
the  helpless  soldier-boys  were  pursued  pitilessly  in  all 
directions ;  but  the  one  whom  Dave  pointed  out  was 
faring  horribly.  He  had  run  well,  and  had  climbed 
a  ledge  of  rocks  that  were  being  blasted  away  to  make 
room  for  new  buildings.  He  was  overtaken  on  the 
summit,  and  even  the  mob  held  its  breath  for  a 
moment. 

"They've  thrown  him  over!"  gasped  Dave. 
That  was  not  all,  for  as  he  lay,  dead  or  living,  at 
the  foot  of  the  ledge,  he  was  buried  almost  out  of 
sight  by  the  stones  which  followed  him. 

"Some  of  those  fellows  are  looking  at  us,  Dave," 
said  Barry.  "Let's  run!  They'll  be  pounding  us 
next." 

"We're  both  in  blue,"  said  Dave.  "We'd  be  safer 
if  we  were  ragged." 

"Cut  it!"  exclaimed  Barry;  and  off  they  ran,  each 
hardly  noticing  how  pale  and  horrified  the  other  looked. 
Behind  them,  on  the  avenue,  there  was  a  kind  of 
confused  storm.  It  seemed  to  be  composed  of  yells, 
shrieks,  groans,  the  crash  of  glass  and  of  window - 
sashes,  the  rattle  of  pistol-shots,  and  the  loud  tones 
of  somebody  or  other  in  a  sort  of  command.  In  fact, 
the  air  in  all  directions  seemed  to  be  full  of  evil  sounds 


182  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

as  the  two  boys  made  their  escape  up  the  cross-street. 
Of  course,  they  could  not  help  pausing  to  look  back. 

"Smoke!"  exclaimed  Davis.  "I  declare!  Have 
those  fellows  set  the  draft-office  on  fire?" 

"Yes,  they  have,"  said  Barry.  "I  heard  them  say 
they  were  going  to.  They  said  they'd  burn  the  whole 
block." 

"Yes,"  said  Dave,  "they  said  they'd  burn  every 
block  in  the  city  that  had  a  draft-office  in  it." 

"Look!"  exclaimed  Barry.  "Don't  you  see?  They 
are  plundering  the  houses.  Oh!  isn't  that  awful? 
That  black  boy!  Only  a  boy,  and  they're  stoning 
him  to  death !" 

"Just  as  they  did  that  soldier!"  groaned  Dave.  "I 
say,  Barry,  this  isn't  war!" 

"Isn't  it?"  said  Barry.  " I  should  say  it  was.  It's 
got  here.     Let's  run  again.     There  they  come!" 

"We'd  better!"  and  Dave  started,  but  he  added, 
"No  it  isn't  real  war.  It's  a  riot.  All  it  wants  is 
soldiers  to  put  it  down." 

"Invalid  Corps  men  won't  do,"  said  Barry  as  they 
ran.  "They've  been  all  used  up  in  battles  They 
couldn't  any  of  them  run  like  this,  not  to  save  their 
lives." 

"Your  soldiers'll  come,  though,"  replied  Dave, 
"and  there'll  be  lots  of  shooting  done  before  this  is 
over." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE   BATTLE    OF   NEW   YORK. 

HE   buildings  of  the  block  where  the  draft- 
office  was  had  all  been  residences  of  people 
of    moderate    means,   none   of   whom   be- 
longed to  what  Mr.     Palovski  called  the 
"  goffernment. "     Every  house    was  plundered 
and  then  set  on  fire  so  fast  that  some  of  the 
people  hardly  had  time  to  escape. 

The  boys  ran  well  for  so  hot  a  day,  until  they  felt 
safe.  Then  they  walked  along  in  silence  for  a  few 
minutes,  feeling  as  if  what  they  had  seen  could  not 
be  real,  it  was  so  horrible. 

"Don't  I  wish  I  could  fight!"  suddenly  exclaimed 
Barry ;  but  at  that  moment  they  both  saw  something 
which  made  them  spring  forward. 

"  Stop !"  shouted  Barry.  "  Don't  you  hit  him  again ! 
Dave,  get  a  club !" 

That  was  what  he  himself  was  doing,  for  he  was 
pulling  a  side-stick  out  of  a  dray  that  stood  by  the 
curbstone,  and  Dave  pulled  out  another.  It  was  a 
wild,  reckless  thing  to  do ;  but  the  boys  were  in  the 
hottest  kind  of  excitement.      What  were  two  such 

183 


184  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

fellows  as  they  against  such  a  knot  of  tipsy  ruffians 
as  had  knocked  down  that  colored  man  and  were  kick- 
ing and  heating  him? 

Yes,  but  a  hickory  cart-stick  is  a  tremendous  club 
to  swing,  and  "rap"  went  Barry's  against  the  head 
of  the  first  ruffian  he  could  reach.  He  had  never 
before  struck  a  man,  and  he  felt  a  thrill  of  astonish- 
ment as  he  saw  this  one  reel  and  fall.  It  was  more 
than  a  surprise,  too,  for  it  seemed  to  double  his 
strength  and  his  striking  power. 

Down  went  another  man  before  Davis,  and  Barry's 
next  hit  was  on  the  elbow  of  a  boy  larger  than  him- 
self, who  at  once  began  to  rub  and  howl  and  run, 
shouting,  "P'lice!" 

There  were  two  more,  apparently  grown  men,  ])ut 
to  the  surprise  of  Dave  and  Barry  they  ran  at  once, 
without  waiting  to  be  hit. 

"  Cowards !"  exclaimed  Barry. 

"I'd  like  to  have  hit  them,  too,"  said  Dave,  but 
the  colored  man  was  getting  up  and  so  were  the  two 
knocked-down  rioters. 

"Jump!  Eun!"  shouted  Barry  to  the  colored  man. 
"Run  to  your  house.     Eun  and  hide!" 

"  Bress  de  Lord !"  responded  the  poor  victim,  and 
his  legs  had  not  been  hurt,  for  he  ran  very  well. 

"It's  our  turn  to  run  now,"  said  Dave.  "There's 
more  coming!" 


.  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK.  185 

"Run  it!"  said  Barry,  and  they  went,  but  they 
were  followed  only  by  a  storm  of  abuse  from  the  two 
ruffians  they  had  clubbed. 

It  was  just  as  Barry  said.  That  gang  of  brutal 
fellows  were  cowards,  and  they  had  been  scattered  by 
two  mere  boys,  with  right  on  their  side. 

The  two  rescuers  were  not  in  any  further  danger, 
but  all  over  the  city  gangs  of  seemingly  half-crazy 
men  and  boys  were  dashing  hither  and  thither.  Most 
of  them  appeared  to  have  no  especial  aim  or  errand, 
but  to  be  on  a  general  hunt  after  any  kind  of  mischief 
that  might  turn  up. 

It  was  a  strange  time.     Gusts  of  wind  arose  and 

sent  clouds  of  dust  along  the  streets  and  avenues,  as 

if  the  very  air  were  getting  excited.     Women  came 

to  doors  and  windows  and  peered  out  and  dodged  in 

again,  as  if  in  fear  of  being  hit.     Gangs  of  laborers 

everywhere   threw   down    their    tools   and    marched 

away  from  their  jobs,  but  those  were  not  the  men 

who  seemed  inclined  to  hurt  anybody.     If  they  did 

not  quit  work  of  their  own  accord,  the  mob  forced  them 

to  do  so.     Squads  of  scowling  ruffians  halted  street-cars 

and  ordered  their  conductors  to  run  no  more,  on  pain 

of  being  beaten  to  death.      Helpless  colored  people 

were  suddenly  set  upon  by  merciless  foes,  who  seemed 

to  have  risen  from  the  earth.     Soldiers  found  their 

uniforms  marking  them  out  for  violence — that  is,  if 
13 


186  THE   BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

there  were  not  too  many  more  of  their  comrades  within 
helping  distance.  Pohcemen  out  on  patrol  duty  were 
compelled  to  fight  their  way  back  to  the  station-houses 
and  leave  most  of  the  streets  unguarded. 

The  whole  thing  was  a  great  surprise,  but  it  did 
not  come  from  the  Confederate  Government.  Gen- 
eral Lee  had  not  ordered  any  rising  in  New  York  nor 
any  opposition  to  the  draft.  Mr.  Mapleson  and  his 
friends  had  not  done  it.  The  drafted  men  themselves, 
with  a  few  exceptions,  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  riot. 

What,  then,  had  risen?  Who  was  doing  all  this 
robbery  and  burning  and  murder? 

Barry  and  Dave  were  just  now  too  excited,  and  so 
was  everybody  else,  to  ask  such  a  question ;  but  it  is 
one  of  those  questions  that  asks  itself,  and  ought  to  be 
answered. 

The  great  city  had  two  things  in  it  all  the  while. 
One  was  and  is  what  is  sometimes  called  society,  and 
it  is  made  up  of  all  people  who  earn  an  honest  living, 
willingly,  and  try  to  obey  the  laws.  Down  under  this 
there  is  something  else  which  is  neither  American, 
Irish,  German,  nor  of  any  sort  that  can  easily  be  de- 
scribed, except  that  it  was  mostly  brought  here  from 
Europe.  It  crowds  our  jails  all  the  while,  and  costs 
us  a  great  deal.  In  1SG3  there  were  over  forty 
thousand  men  within  ten  miles  of  the  City  Hall,  each 
of  whom  had  been  convicted  of  crime  in  this  country. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  NEW  YORK.         187 

besides  those  who  may  have  been  in  jail  before  they 
came  over,  but  kept  out  of  it  here.  All  these  and 
all  others  of  the  same  sort  were  just  the  men  to  do 
what  was  doing.  They  were  not  patriots,  and  they 
were  not  good  material  to  make  soldiers  of,  but 
through  week  after  week  they  had  been  stirred  up 
and  excited  by  the  draft.  They  had  been  secretly 
told  of  a  probable  "revolution,"  as  some  of  them  called 
it.  So  they  had  been  getting  ready  for  mischief,  and 
now  there  was  a  kind  of  explosion  of  all  the  evil  in 
them.  If  it  had  not  been  thus,  it  would  not  have 
exploded  at  all ;  but  it  seemed  to  kindle  and  go  off 
as  if  it  caught  fire  from  the  air.  Besides  this,  it  may  be 
considered  that  all  great  masses  of  men  are  liable  to 
sudden,  wild-fire  excitements.  So  panics  will  take  hold 
of  armies,  as  of  the  French  at  Waterloo  or  Americans 
at  Bull  Eun ;  for  the  best  of  timber  will  burn  like  the 
worst  if  it  is  dry  enough  and  if  the  fire  to  burn  it  is 
kindled  under  a  strong  draft.  But  there  was  not 
much  good  timber  in  the  mob  that  rose  in  1863. 

Barry  and  Dave  had  obeyed  their  angry  impulse 
bravely  enough,  but  their  only  idea  was  to  get  home. 
They  carried  their  cart-stakes  with  them,  however, 
without  telling  each  other  why.  It  seemed  the  right 
thing  for  any  fellow  out  of  doors  to  have  a  tip  top 
club. 

Nobody  interfered  with  them  on  the  way,  and  when 


188  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

they  reached  the  house  they  found  some  anxious  peo- 
ple in  the  jDarlor,  waiting  to  hear  all  they  had  to  say 
of  where  they  had  been  and  what  they  had  seen.  It 
was  a  tremendous  story  to  tell,  and  all  the  anxiety 
seemed  to  turn  into  excitement  and  exclamations 
while  they  told  it.  It  took  a  long  time  to  get  as  far 
as  to  the  fight  on,  their  way  home;  but  when  they 
came  to  that  and  the  cart-stakes,  Mrs.  Eedding  turned 
very  pale  and  spoke  as  if  she  were  out  of  breath : 

"Barry!     Tell  me!     Did  he  get  away?" 

"Yes,  he  did,  mother,"  said  Barry;  and  he  went 
right  along  with  his  story  while  Mrs.  Randolph  scarcely 
took  her  eyes  from  Davis'  face.  There  was  a  sort  of 
fiercely-exulting  look  of  horror  and  delight  in  Lilian's 
eyes,  and  there  were  a  number  of  suppressed  remarks 
made  by  some  women -boarders  who  had  stayed  at 
home. 

"Then  we  ran,"  said  Barry  at  last,  and  his  mother 
exclaimed : 

"I'm  so  glad  you  saved  him!" 

"The   brave    fellows "   began    Mrs.    Randolph, 

but  Lilian  interrupted  her: 

"  Mother  and  Dave  and  Barry  are  both  on  the  same 
side  this  time!" 

"We  didn't  have  any  time  to  think,"  said  Barry, 
"  but  it  was  kind  of  awful  to  knock  a  man  down  with 
a  club." 


THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK.  180 

"Dave,"  said  Lilian,  "how  did  you  feel?" 

"Didn't  feel  at  all,"  said  Dave.  "I  was  too  mad 
about  it.     Say,  Barry,  how  those  two  loafers  did  run !" 

"Diana  Lee  must  keep  in-doors,"  was  Mrs.  Red- 
ding's  next  remark,  and  Mrs.  Randolph  added: 

"That's  what  we  must  all  do."  But  Diana  herself 
had  been  listening,  with  wide-open  eyes  and  with  a 
kind  of  laugh  breaking  out  every  now  and  then,  as 
she  twisted  her  hard,  black  hands. 

"  Reckon  I  knows  'nough  for  that, "  she  said,  "  Sho ! 
Dem  boys!  Dey  wasn't  hurt  a  mite.  Don't  I  wish 
dey'd  killed  'em  all?     Wish  de  sojers  was  heah." 

So  everybody  else  was  wishing,  except  the  fast-in- 
creasing mob.  This,  indeed,  was  now  driving  before  it 
even  large  parties  of  the  outnumbered  police,  and  was 
all  the  while  getting  crazier.  What  was  worse,  too,  it 
was  getting  bolder  with  a  sense  of  a  sort  of  victory  and 
by  finding  out  that  it  had  so  much  unexpected  power. 

One  of  its  first  operations  was  to  cut  down  telegraph 
poles  and  sever  wires,  so  that  one  part  of  the  city 
could  not  find  out  what  was  going  on  in  another. 
The  people  who  were  shut  up  in  their  houses  could 
know  very  little.  They  could  only  sit  still  and  guess 
and  talk  and  imagine.  Even  in  later  years  it  has  not 
been  easy  to  convince  sober  folk  of  the  exact  truth 
concerning  the  days  and  nights  of  the  great  battle  in 
New  York  between  crime  and  the  law. 


190  THE   BATTLE    OF   NEW   YORK. 

So  much  uncertainty  was  a  hard  thing  to  bear,  and 
it  was  not  a  great  while  before  the  entire  household 
at  Mrs.  Redding's  began  to  feel  thirsty  for  news. 
It  was  a  fever  of  doubt  and  curiosity,  and  it  grew 
hotter  as  they  talked  and  waited.  They  could  not 
hear  anything  or  see  anything  from  the  windows,  and 
at  last  Barry  shouted : 

"Come  on,  Dave!  They  won't  hurt  newsboys. 
You  and  I  can  rig  up  as  ragged  as  the  Shiner." 

"That's  what  I'll  do!'' said  Dave.  "But  I'll  have 
to  put  some  dirt  on  my  face  and  hands." 

"Oh,  boys!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Randolph,  "you  won't 
do  any  such  thing!" 

"Well,"  said  Mrs.  Redding  doubtfully,  "I  almost 
believe  they'd  be  safe.  Just  as  safe  as  Davis  was 
when  he  came  through  our  army." 

"It  wouldn't  do  for  him  to  wear  charcoal  this  time, 
though,"  said  Barry;  "but  Kid  or  the  Shiner  could 
go  anywhere." 

"So  can  you  and  I,"  said  Dave.  "We'll  really  sell 
papers,  too.  Make  some  money.  Let's  hurry.  What 
fun!" 

"  Oh,  how  I  wish  I  were  a  boy !"  excitedly  exclaimed 
Lilian.  "They  have  all  the  fun  there  is!  I  think 
it's  too  bad!"  but  the  two  mothers  talked  caution 
all  the  while  they  were  letting  the  boys  go. 

By  the  time  Barry  and  Dave  were  satisfied  with 


THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YOEK.  191 

what  they  called  their  new  uniforms,  Diana  was  jus- 
tified in  saying: 

''Dey  looks  wuss  dan  two  spring  wpodchucks." 

"Eagamuffins!"  added  Lilian.  "They  both  look  as 
if  they  belonged  to  the  mob !" 

That  might  be,  but  the  young  adventurers  dashed 
out  of  the  house  in  apparently  high  spirits. 

The  mob  had  its  idea  about  dress  beyond  a  doubt, 
as  well  as  about  complexion. 

Mr.  Hunker,  walking  along  one  of  the  avenues, 
paused  for  a  moment  to  see  a  lot  of  vicious-looking 
fellows  stop  an  empty  street-car  and  send  its  driver 
away  with  the  horses.  Of  course  there  could  be  no 
danger  to  so  white  or  red-faced  a  man  as  himself, 
opposed  to  the  draft  and  to  the  war,  and  he  loudly 
exclaimed : 

"  That's  right,  boys.     Go  ahead.     I'm  on  your  side. " 

That  might  be  so.  Nobody  disputed  him.  Never- 
theless, in  a  few  seconds  he  was  not  on  any  side  at  all, 
but  upon  his  back,  surrounded  by  fierce  faces  and 
chattering  tongues,  not  answering  him  in  English, 
however  earnestly  he  professed  to  be  their  friend. 

Off  came  his  elegant  suit  of  clothing,  hat,  boots, 
watch,  pin,  necktie,  seal-ring,  and  cuff-buttons.  He 
was  not  beaten  much,  but  whatever  there  had  been 
in  his  pockets  was  divided  among  his  friends  before 
he  was  left  behind  to  get  up  and  get  away. 


192  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

A  pair  of  ragged  and  dirty-looking  boys  on  the  side- 
walk saw  the  whole  proceeding,  and  one  of  them 
remarked : 

"Keep  still,  Dave.  That's  old  Hunker.  They 
won't  kill  him.  Serve  him  right.  He's  down  on  the 
war  and  the  draft." 

"He's  about  scared  to  death,"  said  Dave.  "Didn't 
they  do  it  quick,  though?  But  we  mustn't  let  on 
who  we  are — not  even  to  him !" 

"Come  along,"  replied  Barry.  "Now  all  the  car- 
lines  are  choked  off,  we've  got  to  foot  it  downtown." 

Poor  Mr.  Hunker!  He  had  indeed  been  finished 
quickly,  and  now  he  was  footing  it  in  his  stocking- 
feet,  and  in  a  dreadfully  astonished  state  of  mind. 

"Who'd  ha'  thought  it?"  he  mournfully  inquired 
aloud.  "What's  become  of  all  the  police?  Where 
are  all  the  soldiers  gone  to?  Think  of  a  man  like  me 
bein'  robbed  such  a  way  as  this!  What'd  Mapleson 
say  if  he  knaowed  hov/  they  was  goin'  on?" 

"He'd  say  one  of  his  friends  had  been  unwise," 
remarked  a  steady-toned  voice  near  him.  "I  saw 
you.  What  a  fool  you  were  to  come  out  with  a  dia- 
mond pin  on!" 

"Is  that  you,  Mr.  Mapleson?  Why,  you  look  more 
like  a  hod -carrier " 

"All  the  hod-carriers  are  perfectly  safe,"  replied 
the  clear-headed  politician  coolly.     "  I  know  all  that 


THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YOEK.  193 

crowd  like  a  book.  I  came  out  to  see  how  matters 
looked,  though,  and  I'm  going  home.  You'd  better, 
quick  as  you  can." 

"I'm  a-goin'  to,"  groaned  Mr.  Hunker.  ''I  guess 
the  mob  has  riz." 

"It'll  go  down  again,"  said  Mr.  Mapleson.  "It 
may  burn  half  the  city  first,  but  there  won't  be  so 
much  mob  left  after  it's  over.  Go  home.  You  are  in  a 
light,  comfortable,  hot-weather  rig. " 

So  he  was ;  but  Hunker  was  too  scared  to  be  angry 
at  having  fun  poked  at  him,  and  all  the  way  as  he 
went  he  had  to  submit  to  it.  Even  badly-scared  peo- 
ple seemed  to  get  into  better  spirits  when  they  met 
him. 

Dave  and  Barry  kept  away  from  crowds  all  the 
way  downtown.  They  saw  more  than  one  which 
was  evidently  skirmishing  with  a  police  force. 

"They   don't   seem   to   be   shooting,"  said   Barry. 

"  'Tisn't  like    real    war "     But    just    then    Dave 

exclaimed : 

"Hark!  Hear  that  away  off  yonder'?  That's  a 
rifle  volley  somewhere.  It's  soldiers,  too!  Eegular 
volley " 

"Soldiers  firing  all  together?"  said  Barry.  "Mob 
shooting  would  be  scattering?" 

It  was  not  done  by  the  mob,  indeed ;  for  the  first 
volleys  in  defence  of  .law  and  order  were  fired  at  a 


194  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

mob  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  city  by  a  small  detach- 
ment of  marines  from  the  Navy  Yard. 

On  went  the  boys  in  their  daring  search  for  news, 
and  they  were  very  much  safer  after  they  reached 
City  Hall  Square  and  obtained  supplies  of  news- 
papers. It  was  not  so  easy  to  find  customers,  how- 
ever, for  one  of  their  first  discoveries  was  that  all 
l)usiness  was  suspended.  Their  next  was  that  the  first 
efforts  of  the  police,  and  of  the  citizens  who  were  now 
rapidly  volunteering,  were  for  the  protection  of  the 
lower  part  of  the  city. 

"Tell  you  what,"  remarked  the  Shiner,  just  after 
they  met  him,  "Wall  Street's  going  to  be  the  safest 
place  there  is." 

"'Cause  the  money's  there,"  said  Barry.  "They 
won't  let  the  mob  get  that. " 

"Guess  it  won't  be  safer'n  Newspaper  Eow,"  re- 
plied Kid  after  a  long  hoot.  "  What'd  folks  do  with- 
out their  extrys?" 

That  was,  nevertheless,  what  the  city  was  to  be 
compelled  to  do  for  the  greater  part  of  its  area  during 
nearly  a  v/eek. 

"Let's  go  on  down,"  said  Barry.  "They  haven't 
touched  the  big  gun-stores  on  Maiden  Lane  yet. 
They're  all  shut  up.     Glad  I  got  my  pistols  in  time." 

Something  like  scared-to-death  business  was  still 
doing  in  the  money  region  between  Trinity  Church 


THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK.  195 

and  the  East  Eiver  Ferry,  but  the  big  brick  and  stone 
buildings  that  held  the  banks  were  beginning  to  wear 
a  shut-up,  fort-like  look.  So  did  the  Stock  Exchange. 
The  steps  of  the  Sub-Treasury  Building  were  occupied 
by  armed  men  for  its  defence,  and  so  were  those  of 
the  custom-house,  and  at  the  top  of  these  a  short, 
wide-mouthed  mountain  howitzer  stared  down. 

"It's  full  of  grape,"  said  a  man  who  looked  up  at 
it.     "Wouldn't  it  sv/eep!" 

"You  bet  it  would!"  exclaimed  the  Shiner.  "It's 
got  a  mouth  wider'n  Kid's." 

"These  buildings'd  all  be  good  forts,"  remarked 
Dave,  with  something  of  the  air  of  a  veteran  soldier 
who  knew  about  war,  "except  against  cannon." 

"Cannons  would  knock  'em,"  said  Kid,  "but  this 
muss  is  goin'  to  knock  spots  out  o'  the  news  business." 

"Hurrah!"  suddenly  shouted  Dave.  "There  go  the 
Stars  and  Stripes!" 

"Hurrah!"  joined  in  the  other  boys,  and  a  chorus 
of  cheers  rang  out  all  the  way  up  Wall  Street,  for 
a  full  company  of  regular-army  soldiers  went  swing- 
ing by. 

"They're  from  one  of  the  forts,"  said  Barry,  glad 
to  know  something  about  the  army.  "  General  Brown 
sent  them.     He's  a  brick!" 

The  excitement  was  tremendous  everywhere.  Men 
went  hurrying  this  way,  that  way.     Crowds  gathered 


196  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

and  dispersed.  The  fire-alarm  bells  rang  out  afresh 
every  now  and  then,  for  there  was  a  fresh  conflagra- 
tion kindled  during  every  hour  of  that  day  and  of  its 
following  night.  Twenty-four  fires  without  counting 
false  alarms ! 

The  boys  got  tired  of  trying  to  sell  news  or  find  it 
in  that  region,  and  before  long  they  w^ere  eagerly 
exploring  the  avenues  leading  uptown.  It  was  all 
more  like  a  terrible  dream  than  a  reality,  but  they 
were  in  no  great  danger.  That  mob  had  not  risen 
against  ragged  newsboys,  unless  it  should  suspect 
them  of  having  money  in  their  pockets. 

Barry  and  Dave  had  been  a  source  of  constantly 
increasing  anxiety  to  their  friends  at  home,  ever  since 
they  left  it.  Lilian  was  at  one  of  the  parlor-windows 
every  five  minutes.  Even  Diana  expressed  very  freely 
her  disapproval  of  the  rash  curiosity  which  had  allowed 
them  to  venture  out. 

"Sho!"she  said.  "De  boys!  Wat  do  I  care  foh 
de  mob?  Dey  might  be  killed.  Glad  dey's  w'ite. 
Wat  was  dah  mothers  thinkin'  of?     Sho!" 

Their  mothers  were  thinking  very  repentently. 
Every  soul  in  the  house,  including  men-boarders  who 
had  given  up  business  and  were  returning  early, 
united  in  condemning  such  rashness.  There  were 
only  four  of  the  latter  now,  for  several  others  had  but 
just   departed   upon  their   usual  summer  vacations. 


THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK.  l97 

This  had  been  one  cause  of  the  thinness  of  Mrs.  Red- 
ding's  cash  returns  and  of  Mr,  Hunker's  hope  that 
she  would  fail  to  pay  her  rent.  Now,  however,  there 
were  sudden  signs  of  preparations  for  other  excursions, 
and  long  before  supper-time  four  hand-portmanteaus 
were  packed,  and  Mrs.  Redding's  upjDer  rooms  were 
vacant. 

There  w^ere  whispers,  also,  among  the  women,  and 
several  times  the  appearance  of  Diana  upstairs  or  in 
the  parlors  had  been  a  signal  for  nods  and  glances 
that  seemed  full  of  foreboding. 

Part  of  what  it  meant  was  caught  and  answered  by 
Mrs.  Redding. 

"That's  so,"  she  remarked  to  Mrs.  Randolph;  "all 
colored  people  are  in  danger.  I'll  do  the  marketing 
myself.  I'll  buy  all  we  need,  so  I  won't  have  to  go 
out  again  right  away." 

Lilian  and  her  mother  seemed  inclined  to  take  a 
curious  view  of  the  matter  between  themselves. 

"  Davis  says  he  is  certain  the  Confederate  Govern- 
ment has  nothing  to  do  with  this,"  said  Mrs.  Randolph 
in  her  own  room;  "but  he  is  only  a  boy.  He  may  not 
know." 

"What?  Mother,"  exclaimed  Lilian,  "I  thought 
of  that!  But  the  South  hasn't  anything  to  do  with 
this.     I  wish  General  Lee  was  here.     He'd  stop  it!" 

She  was  neither  a  general  nor  a  statesman,   and 


198  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

there  were  many  things  of  war  and  peace  which  a 
mere  girl  could  not  be  expected  to  understand.  The 
best  and  wisest  and  bravest  men  in  the  city  did  not 
understand  that  mob.  Even  the  police  and  the  mili- 
tary officers  gave  up  guessing  at  its  kind  and  strength, 
and  merely  went  on  fighting  it. 

Davis  and  Barry  saw  them  at  work  in  more  than 
one  place,  but  were  quite  willing  to  look  on  at  a  dis- 
tance, for  it  was  just  as  Dave  said : 

"  There  ought  to  be  ten  times  as  many  police,  and 
then  they'd  have  a  fight  of  it." 

That  was  while  the  squad  of  newsboys  were  pouring 
down  a  street  that  led  into  Second  Avenue,  and  they 
could  see  that  the  avenue  was  packed  with  a  yelling, 
shouting  throng  of  rioters.  There  was  a  kind  of  fas- 
cination in  it,  and  the  boys  went  nearer. 

"See!"  said  Barry.  "Now  I  know  what  they're 
after.  That  big  corner  building's  got  an  armory  in 
the  upper  story.     Lots  of  guns  and  ammunition." 

"They're  after  the  guns,"  said  the  Shiner.  "The 
upper  floor  is  packed  with  'em  like  a  sardine-box." 

It  looked  so,  for  fierce -looking  faces  were  shoeing 
at  all  its  windows  and  shouting  to  the  crowd  in  the 
street. 

"The  lower  stories  are  swarmin',  too,"  said  Kid; 
and  then  he  gave  a  great  hoot  and  added:  "There  go 
the  cops!" 


THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW   YORK.  199 

It  was,  indeed,  a  strong  force  of  policemen  charging 
up  the  avenue  and  driving  the  furious  rioters  before 
it,  in  an  effort  to  prevent  them  from  getting  the  arms 
which  would  make  them  more  dangerous, 

"It's  hard  fighting,"  said  Dave,  "but  it  isn't  up  to 
the  fighting  on  the  hill  at  Gettysburg.  Hullo !  what's 
that?" 

What  was  it?  A  puff  of  smoke  i)ouring  through 
a  window  in  the  Armory  Building?  And  what  did  it 
mean? 

Something  horrible ! 

The  rioters  in  the  lower  stories  of  that  huge  build- 
ing had  been  warned  that  the  police  were  defeating 
their  friends  in  the  street,  and  that  it  was  time  for 
them  to  get  out  and  get  away.  Wild  with  wrath  and 
excitement,  they  set  the  building  on  fire  in  every  place 
at  once  as  they  swarmed  out  of  it.  It  had  been  a 
piano  factory,  and  it  contained  quantities  of  light, 
dry  wood,  shavings,  work-benches  half-soaked  with 
oil,  cans  of  oil,  of  varnish,  of  alcohol.  The  fires  which 
were  kindled  spread  almost  as  if  they  had  been  lighted 
in  gunpowder.  The  upper  stairways  were  so  many 
flues  of  roaring  flame  before  any  warning  could  be 
given  to  the  men  in  the  upper  story.  It  seemed  only 
a  moment  before  the  whole  building  under  them  was 
a  vast  furnace.  The  dry,  pine  floor  they  stood  on 
melted   and   crackled    away    with    terrible   rapidity. 


200  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Then  there  came  a  tremendous  crash,  mingled  with 
a  great,  despairing  cry,  echoed  by  the  throng  in  the 
street  and  followed  by  a  full  minute  of  silence,  through 
which  nothing  could  be  heard  but  the  savage  roar  of 
the  flames. 

"Dave,"  whispered  Barry,  "let's  go  home!" 
"  They  were  all  burned  alive !"  whispered  back  Dave ; 
and  with  pale  faces  and  beating  hearts  the  two  boys 
hurried  away. 


CHAPTEE   XIV. 

THE    RED    FLAG. 

v^AMi^y<^HAT  a  dreadful  time  this  is!"  said  Lilian, 
P     after  supper,  as  they  all  sat  in  the  parlor 
^^o     talking  about  it.     "  It's  like  a  nightmare. 
t^^M     I  hate  to  go  to  bed. " 
.4^         "That's  just  the  way  I  feel,"  said  Mrs.  Ran- 
dolph.    "I  can't  forget  about  those  men  in  the 
burning  armory." 

"  Oh !  to  think  of  such  things  happening  right  here 
in  the  city  of  New  York!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Redding. 

"It  almost  seems  as  if  it  wasn't  so  at  all,"  slowly 
remarked  Lilian. 

All  over  the  city  there  was  a  great  deal  of  that  kind 

of  feeling — a  nightmare  feeling — but  there  was  no 

such  thing  possible  as  waking  up  and  getting  rid  of 

it.    The  alarm-bells  rang  on.     The  fires  burned  almost 

unchecked.      The  firemen    tried    to  work,    but  were 

driven  away  by  the  mob.      Stores  and  houses  were 

pillaged.      Men  and   women   who   ventured    on    the 

streets  were  robbed  and  beaten.     Colored  people  were 

terribly  maltreated,  and  some  of  them  were  killed. 
14  201 


202  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Yet  all  night  long  the  forces  of  law  and  order  were 
gathering  and  organizing.  Special  police  were  sv/orn 
in.  Soldiers  and  marines  and  sailors  landed  from  the 
forts  and  war-ships.  Veterans  of  the  army  came 
together,  and  began  to  "fall  in"  as  volunteers  for  the 
defence  of  the  city. 

All  night  long,  too,  the  strange  fever  of  wicked- 
ness spread  faster  and  faster  among  the  ex-convicts 
and  the  as  yet  unconvicted  criminals.  So  all  the  evil 
forces  were  also,  in  a  manner,  enlisting.  They  were 
not  volunteering  to  oppose  the  draft,  but  to  attack 
anything  and  everything  that  might  come  in  their 
crazy  way ;  for  this  was  a  kind  of  war  in  which  the 
volunteers  on  both  sides  went  to  their  own  places 
naturally. 

Tuesday  night  was  very  short,  but  it  was  seemingly 
one  of  the  longest  nights  the  people  of  New  York  had 
ever  passed. 

In  Mrs.  Redding's  boarding-house,  all  who  were 
left  were  ready  for  breakfast  at  seven  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  even  then  Diana  remarked : 

"Sho!  I  was  beginnin'  to  think  dey  wouldn't  ebber 
come  downstairs.  Dis  ain't  no  time  foh  folks  to  lie 
abed." 

"I  hope  the  boys  won't  go  out  again  to-day,"  said 
Lilian.     "Don't  let  them,  Mrs.  Redding." 

"Indeed,  they  must   not,"  replied  Mrs.    Redding; 


THE    RED    FLAG.  203 

and  Mrs,  Randolph  fully  agreed  with  her,  but  some- 
how or  other  they  did  get  out  after  a  while. 

They  obtained  a  great  deal  of  news,  too,  before 
they  reached  home  again.  Part  of  it  was  in  a  morn- 
ing paper,  and  a  much  larger  part  was  made  up  of 
what  they  had  seen  and  heard. 

"Barry!"  almost  shouted  his  mother,  "you  don't 
mean  to  tell  me  they  burned  the  colored-orphan 
asylum?" 

"Yes,  they  did,"  said  Barry,  "and  they  burned  lots 
of  other  houses  where  there  were  colored  people." 

"What  a  wicked  shame!"  exclaimed  Lilian. 
"  What  had  those  poor  little  black  children  to  do  with 
the  draft?" 

" Nothing, "  said  Barry.  "I  saw  a  good  many  of 
those  fellows  that  did  it  afterward.  Looked  like 
devils !" 

"What  this  city  wants  is  soldiers!"  said  Mrs.  Ean- 
dolph  vehemently.  "  I  wish  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
were  here," 

"Or  our  army,"  said  Lilian. 

"Either  of  them  would  stop  this,"  said  Mrs.  Ran- 
dolph. "  Why  don't  the  police  fight?  What  do  they 
mean?" 

"Fight!"  said  Dave.  "Why,  you  never  saw  better 
fighting.  You  ought  to  have  seen  them  fight  on 
Broadway  yesterday.     And  over  on  Second  Avenue 


204  THE    BATTLE    OF   NEW    YORK. 

before  those  men  were  burned.  They  just  swept 
things.     But  the  mob's  too  big  for  them." 

There  was  a  great  deal  of  watching  from  windows 
that  evening  when  it  came,  but  nearly  all  of  the 
front  doors  were  kept  shut  and  bolted.  Besides, 
everybody  who  shoved  a  bolt  looked  at  it  and  wished 
that  it  had  been  of  a  larger  size. 

''They  won't  come  here,"  said  Davis  to  Barry. 
"They  can't  pick  out  this  house  among  so  many." 

"We'll  fight  if  they  come,"  replied  Barry  sturdily, 
but  at  that  very  moment  his  mother  was  saying: 

"What  shall  we  do,  Mrs.  Randolph?  Four  of  Di- 
ana's friends  have  come.  Colored  women;  they  are 
all  hiding  with  her  in  the  kitchen.     Hear  that?" 

"Why,  they  are  singing!"  said  Mrs.  Randolph. 
"I  suppose  she  has  told  them  they  would  be  safe 
here." 

"Poor  things!"  said  Mrs.  Redding.  "I  don't  won- 
der they  are  half  scared  to  death.  I  declare,  they  are 
holding  a  prayer-meeting!" 

"Well,"  said  Mrs.  Randolph,  as  she  listened  to  the 
very  full  chorus  of  the  hymn,  "I'm  glad  they  came. 
Hark!  That's  Diana  Lee,  now,  praying,"  she  said, 
and  Barry  added : 

"Dave,  can't  you  hear  Dinah?" 

"Of  course  I  can,"  said  Davis;  "but  praying  people 
get  killed  sometimes,  just  like  anybody  else. " 


THE    RED    FLAG.  206 

"I'll  feel  better,"  said  Barry,  "if  she  doesn't  pray 
too  loud,  and  let  the  mob  know  she  is  here." 

"If  that  isn't  Lilian!"  suddenly  exclaimed  Davis. 
"She  is  down  there  with  them.     Come  on!" 

They  hardly  knew  why  they  went,  but  in  another 
moment  they  were  looking  at  something  that  made 
them  keep  very  still,  as  if  for  fear  they  might  inter- 
inipt  it  by  being  found  out. 

There  were  more  colored  women  in  Mrs.  Redding 's 
kitchen  than  she  was  aware  of,  and  there  was  one 
man  whose  face  looked  all  the  blacker  because  his 
hair  was  white.  All  that  the  boys  really  saw,  how- 
ever, before  they  turned  and  dodged  upstairs  again, 
was  Lilian  Randolph  standing  between  that  old  black 
man  and  Diana  Lee,  and  singing  with  all  her  might, 
while  half  the  other  voices  in  the  room  seemed  to  be 
vociferating  "  Bress  de  Lord !" 

"Let's  get  out!"  said  Dave  in  a  whisper. 

"Quick!"  said  Barry.  "But  didn't  she  look  pretty! 
I'm  glad,  though,  that  we've  got  those  pistols. 
They're  just  the  thing." 

Perhaps  they  were,  but  Barry  was  a  very  young 
soldier  and  did  not  know  much  about  war.  He  and 
Dave  reached  the  parlor- windows  again  just  in  time 
to  hear  a  tremendous  hoot  from  an  anxious  voice  on 
the  sidewalk. 

"Hullo,  Kid!"  responded  Barry. 


206  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

"Is  that  you?"  said  Kid,  a  little  huskily.  "Well, 
the  mob  didn't  leave  splithereens  of  the  Tribune  office, 
but  'f  you  want  to  sell  extrys  to-morrow,  there'll  be 
some  out.     There's  loads  o'  news." 

"I'm  coming  down "  began  Barry,  but  he  was 

interrupted  by  the  voice  of  the  Shiner : 

"Guess  you'd  better  come  early  in  the  mornin'. 
They're  goin'  to  mob  the  City  Hall.  You  wouldn't 
miss  seein'  that  for  anything.  There's  goin'  to  be 
sojers  and  a  battl'.'' 

"All  right,"  said  Barry,  but  Kid  added,  as  he  and 
the  Shiner  turned  away : 

"There's  a  cannon  by  the  Tribune  building,  and 
some  more  by  the  other  places.  I  sold  all  the  extrys 
I  had  to  the  gov 'nor  and  mayor  and  some  other  fellers 
at  the  City  Hall.  Some  on  'em  wouldn't  wait  for 
change,  neither." 

The  Shiner  and  Kid  had  stuck  to  their  business  in 
spite  of  the  mob,  and  they  had  made  the  most  that 
was  possible  out  of  all  the  news  that  was  going. 
They  were  ready  to  give  it  up  and  go  home  now, 
however,  while  Davis  and  Barry  were  once  more  ex- 
cited tremendously  by  the  news  their  friends  had 
brought. 

"We  can  slip  out  and  scout  around,"  whispered 
Dave.     "We  needn't  be  gone  a  great  while." 

"Come  on,"  replied  Barry;  and  in  a  minute  or  so 


THE    RED    FLAG.  207 

more  they  were  hurrying  through  street  after  street, 
only  to  find  at  first  that  almost  nobody  else  had  had 
courage  to  try  such  an  experiment. 

"  Seems  as  if  most  people  hardly  dared  light  up  the 
fronts  of  their  houses,"  remarked  Dave. 

Neither  of  them  knew  how  desperately  the  rioters 
had  striven  to  destroy  all  the  gas-works,  so  that  there 
should  not  be  light  anywhere  upon  such  deeds  as  they 
were  doing. 

"What's  that?"  suddenly  exclaimed  Dave. 

" Kind  of  procession, "  said  Barry.  "Hullo!  Police 
guarding  some  colored  people!  Going  uptown  to 
save  their  lives.  Glad  the  mob  doesn't  know  what's 
at  our  house." 

That  was  what  all  the  women  in  it  were  repeating 
continually,  but  they  did  not  know  how  hard  it  some- 
times is  to  keep  a  secret  that  is  known  by  a  whole 
neighborhood.  Darker  and  darker  seemed  the  de- 
serted streets,  as  the  two  boys  pushed  on  toward  the 
eastern  edge  of  the  city,  for  something  like  a  roar  of 
a  great  tumult  led  them. 

"  Crowds?"  said  Barry  in  a  suppressed,  excited  voice. 
"Look,  Dave!     Did  you  ever  see  anything  like  that?" 

"Quick!"  said  Dave.  "Let's  get  to  where  we  can 
see.  There's  something  coming."  They  did  not  give 
a  thought  to  any  danger  they  might  be  prying  into, 
and  in  a  minute  or  so  more  they  were  among  a  thick 


208  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

cluster  of  men,  boys,  and  women  on  an  old  dray  at 
the  corner  of  Eighteenth  Street  and  First  Avenue. 

Up  the  avenue  all  was  a  dusky  pack  of  shouting- 
men.  All  the  windows  of  the  houses  seemed  to  be 
full  of  heads,  and  there  were  men  upon  the  roofs. 

There  was  a  break  in  the  density  of  the  crowd  near 
the  corner,  for  a  different  kind  of  force  had  halted  a 
little  below. 

"Howitzers!"  exclaimed  Dave.  "Soldiers!  Police! 
Not  half  enough." 

Stones  flew  through  the  murky  air.  There  was  a 
ceaseless  rattle  of  shots  from  the  street  mob  and  from 
the  men  on  the  roofs  and  at  the  windows. 

"Dave!"  screamed  Barry.  " The  soldiers  are  going 
down.     Oh!     There!" 

They  were  indeed  dropping  fast,  although  there 
was  not  light  enough  for  their  enemies  to  take  good 
aim,  but  Barry's  last  exclamation  had  followed  upon 
the  first  rifle-volley  the  foremost  ranks  had  fired.  He 
saw  the  blue  flashes  dart  from  the  rifle-muzzles.  He 
heard  the  shrieks  and  groans  that  followed,  but  that, 
and  another,  and  another  volley  seemed  to  only  enrage 
the  crazy  multitude.  The  densely-packed  and  yelling 
front  of  it  was  now  pushed  steadily  forward  by  the 
unthinking  mass  behind.  The  cannon  had  not  yet 
spoken ;  but  just  then  one  man  sprang  out  in  front  of 
the  mob,  and  an  almost  unearthly  voice  screeched  and 


THE    RED    FLAG.  209 

howled  in  an  unknown  tongue,  while  the  frantic 
shouter  brandished  a  flag  as  red  as  blood. 

"Palovski,  the  barber!"  shouted  Barry.  "There  he 
is,  Dave,  with  the  red  flag." 

There  arose  a  flerce  growl  from  several  persons  on 
and  around  the  dray,  and  it  seemed  to  be  directed  at 
Barry,  but  at  that  moment  all  other  sounds  were 
drowned  in  the  thunderous  roar  of  the  cannon. 

"Horrible!"  exclaimed  Dave;  and  a  sort  of  shriek- 
ing cry  sprang  from  the  lips  of  all  who  saw  or  heard. 

A  storm  of  grape-shot  tore  its  deadly  way  through 
the  surging  throng  Palovski  had  been  urging  on  to 
destroy  the  soldiers.  The  pavement  was  strewn  with 
heaps  and  rows  of  lifeless  or  still  struggling  forms. 

Again  and  again  the  howitzers  sent  out  their  mes- 
sengers of  death,  while  the  rattle  of  shots  from  the 
houses  doubled  and  trebled.  It  was  all  in  vain.  The 
brave  men  behind  the  guns  were  going  down  too  fast 
and  were  too  few.  It  was  impossible  for  them  to  hold 
their  ground. 

"Look!"  said  Dave,  "they've  got  to  retreat!  The 
mob  has  beaten  them  after  all.  Tell  you  what, 
Barry,  that  street  looks  like  some  places  I  saw  around 
Gettysburg  after  the  battle." 

"Run!"  hoarsely  whispered  Barry.  "Didn't  you 
hear  what  those  fellows  said  about  us?     Quick!" 

It  had  been  a  hard  fight,   but  the  mob  had  now 


210  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

succeeded  in  not  only  defeating  policemen,  but  in- 
fantry and  artillery  also.  They  had  received  a 
dreadful  lesson  as  to  the  destructive  pov^^er  of  guns 
throwing  grape-shot,  but  they  had  not  been  at  all 
weakened  or  depressed  by  it.  As  Dave  and  Barry 
said,  there  was  no  telling  what  the  rioters  might  do 
next. 

"Dave,"  said  Barry  after  they  had  run  to  a  safe 
distance,  "what  do  you  suppose  became  of  Palovski?" 

"He  didn't  believe  they'd  dare  to  fire,"  said  Dave. 
"He  wasn't  more'n  a  dozen  feet  from  the  mouth  of 
one  of  those  howitzers,  in  a  bee-line." 

"Tore  him  all  to  pieces!"  exclaimed  Barry,  with  a 
shudder.  "It  was  just  such  fellows  as  he  that  set 
'em  a-going." 

The  avenue  where  the  fight  had  been  was  now  very 
dark— too  dark  for  anybody  to  see  the  dead  men  in 
uniform  that  marked  the  spot  where  one  of  the  hovf- 
itzers  stood  when  it  was  fired.  The  gun  itself  had 
been  dragged  away,  but  its  terrible  work  was  proved 
by  a  ghastly  heap  a  few  yards  farther  along  the 
bloody  pavement.  Half-way  between,  as  if  thrown 
there  by  the  hand  which  had  held  it,  lay  the  red 
banner  of  ruin  which  Palovski  had  carried,  and  he 
at  least  would  never  pick  it  up  again. 

The  boys  had  not  been  absolutely  forbidden  going 
out  upon  this  scouting  expedition,  and  when  they  left 


THE    RED    FLAG.  211 

the  house  they  had  no  intention  of  going  so  far  or  of 
being  gone  so  long.  Of  course,  their  absence  was 
very  speedily  discovered,  and  then  it  seemed  as  if  a 
perfect  flood  of  anxiety  burst  forth,  as  if  it  could  fol- 
low them  and  bring  them  right  home. 

"They're  in  their  good  clothes,  too,"  exclaimed 
Mrs.  Redding.  "Both  of  them  put  on  their  blue  suits 
before  supper." 

While  the  others  were  talking,  however,  Lilian 
silently  slipj)ed  to  the  front  door.  It  was  locked  and 
bolted. 

"They  might  come,"  she  said,  "and  they  might  be 
in  a  hurry  to  get  in.     Why  don't  they  come !" 

She  turned  the  key  and  pushed  back  the  bolt,  after 
dropping  first  the  chain-bolt,  but  her  heart  beat  fast 
as  she  turned  the  knob  of  the  door. 

"It's  as  still  as  the  grave,"  she  said,  "but  it  seems 
as  if  there  must  be  somebody  out  there."  Oi^en  came 
the  door,  and  she  instantly  exclaimed:  "Why,  I  for- 
got the  vestibule!  There's  an  outer  door  stronger 
than  this  is." 

That  seemed  to  give  her  courage,  for  she  tried  it  at 
once. 

"The  boys  left  it  on  the  latch,  so  they  could  let 
themselves  in,"  she  said.     "Oh!" 

Her  exclamation  was  hardly  more  than  a  breath 
and   she  did   not  shut  the  door  she  had  opened  so 


212  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

stealthily.  She  held  it  open  a  few  inches  and  peered 
out,  for  she  had  heard  something;  that  is,  she  had 
half-heard  a  sound  that  was  only  half-made,  for  it 
was  a  sound  of  frightened  j^anting. 

"Oh,  why  won't  some  of  them  let  me  in?"  it 
whispered.  "Is  it  such  a  sin  to  be  a  black  girl? 
Doesn't  God  care  for  black  girls?  Didn't  he  make 
me?" 

"Come  in!  Come  right  in!"  shouted  Lilian. 
"Mother!  Mrs.  Redding!  Here's  a  poor  black  girl 
running  away  from  the  mob!" 

"Bress  de  Lord!"  came  back  in  the  deepest  mellow 
music  that  Diana  Lee  could  utter.  "  Reckon  he  sent 
her  to  de  right  place.  Come  in,  honey,  whoebber 
you  is.     Dah  isn't  any  debbil  in  dis  house." 

Up  the  steps,  with  a  frightened,  springing  step, 
came  a  light  form  not  much  taller  than  Lilian's. 
The  door  v/as  wide  open,  and  she  was  drawn  in  by  an 
eager  pair  of  hands  as  she  entered ;  but  Lilian  did  not 
utter  a  word,  and  then  the  fugitive  was  all  but 
smothered  by  Diana  before  she  could  answer  the 
question : 

"Who  is  ye,  honey?" 

"I  was  one  of  the  teachers  in  the  orphan  asylum," 
replied  the  rescued  girl.     "I've  been  hiding " 

She  was  hardly  able  to  say  how  or  where,  in  her 
excitement,  except  as  to  a  house  from  which  she  had 


THE    RED    FLAG.  213 

been  compelled  to  go  by  the  fear  of  its  inmates  that 
her  presence  might  bring  the  mob  upon  them. 

"They  were  good  too/'  she  said,  "but  they  were 
frightened.  They  told  me  to  go  to  the  police  station- 
house,  but  when  I  got  nearly  there  the  mob  were 
burning  it  down." 

She  was  getting  calmer  now,  and  her  new  friends 
were  also  able  to  think  and  speak  a  little  less  excitedly. 
She  was  very  dark,  but  she  was  neatly  dressed,  and 
her  speech  did  not  contain  a  trace  of  the  peculiar 
accent  which  distinguished  Diana  Lee's  eloquence. 
Lilian  noticed  it  at  once. 

"She  is  educated,"  she  said  to  herself,  "but  no  two 
of  those  colored  women  downstairs  talk  just  alike." 

"Do  tell  me  your  name,"  suddenly  exclaimed  Mrs. 
Eedding;  "I  forgot  to  ask  what  it  was." 

"My  name  is  Ida  Hancock,"  said  the  dark  girl. 
"  My  father  and  mother  live  in  Boston.  They  were 
born  there,  and  so  were  their  jjarents.  Our  family  is 
one  of  the  oldest  New  England  families.  Father  is  a 
minister.     I  was  educated  at  Mount  Zion  Seminary." 

"Sho!"  exclaimed  Diana  Lee  with  a  sudden  swell 
as  if  an  attack  of  pride  had  seized  her.  "  Sho !  De 
gal!     Nex'  ye  know  she'll  be  turnin'  w'ite!" 

"She's  just  splendid,  mother!"  said  Lilian  in  a  tone 
that  Ida  could  not  hear.  "  Why,  I  never  dreamed  of 
such  a  thing!     I'm  so  glad  we've  saved  her!" 


214  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

All  talk  was  interrupted  by  a  lond,  repeated  ring- 
ing of  the  door-bell.  It  was  answered  at  once  by 
Diana,  with  the  rest  of  them  behind  her  as  a  kind  of 
rear-gnard  and  skirmishers,  and  they  heard  her  ex- 
change a  ievi  swift  words  with  somebody.  Then  the 
door  shut  with  a  bang,  and  there  was  a  sound  of 
heavy  boots  on  the  sidewalk,  as  if  a  man  were  going 
away  and  running  his  very  best. 

"Diana,"  asked  Mrs.  Eedding,  "what  is  it?" 

"Dey's  a-comin'  heah!"  groaned  poor  Diana,  wring- 
ing her  fat,  black  hands. 

"Oh,  dear!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Eedding.  "Have  they 
found  out  about  you  and  the  others?" 

"De  wahnin'  is  'bout  de  mob!"  replied  Diana. 
"Dey's  comin'  to  buhn  de  house  on  us.  Wat  shall 
we  do?" 

"The  boys!"  said  Mrs.  Kandolph.  "Dave  and 
Barry!  Oh,  what  can  have  become  of  them?  They 
may  have  been  murdered!     This  is  horrible!" 

"0  madam!"  sobbed  Ida  Hancock,  "I'm  afraid  I 
have  brought  this." 

"No,  you  haven't,"  said  Mrs.  Eedding  wrathfully. 
"I'm  glad  you  came.  Oh,  how  I  wish  my  husband 
were  here !" 

Diana  had  again  opened  the  door,  in  a  half -frantic 
curiosity  as  to  what  might  or  might  not  be  seen  in 


THE   RED    FLAG.  215 

the  street,  and  they  now  heard  her  suddenly  scream 
out: 

"Yah!  De  boys!  Dey's  comin' !  BressdeLord! 
Dey  isn't  hurt  a  mite,  or  dey  couldn't  run!  O 
Missus  Eedding !     Hallelujah !" 

What  the  rest  shouted  could  not  be  so  clearly  made 
out,  but  hardly  was  the  door  shut  behind  Dave  and 
Barry  before  Lilian  told  them : 

"You  are  only  just  in  time!  Diana's  friends  have 
sent  her  warning  that  the  mob  is  coming  to  burn  this 
house." 

"We'll  fight  'em!"  shouted  Barry.  "Where  are 
those  revolvers,  mother?" 


CHAPTER   XV. 

FORT   REDDING. 

AERY  and  Dave  reached  their  home  breath - 


less,   panting,   horrified,   but  without  any 


k^^j\^     ^^6^  that  it  was  not  a  safe  refuge  for  them 
^^t;!  to  run  to.     It  had  seemed  to  them,  as  they 

(fh^     fled  through  the   hot,  dismal,   and   deserted 
streets,  like  a  kind  of  fort,  with  a  strong  gar- 
rison of  mothers  and  sisters  and — well,   and  home, 
for  every  home  is  and  should  be  a  fortress. 

Now,  however,  before  they  had  a  good  opportunity 
to  unload  the  terrible  burden  of  news  they  had  brought 
with  them,  they  were  told  of  the  thrilling  v/arning 
brought  to  Diana  by  the  messenger. 

Poor  Diana !  It  was  almost  a  relief  to  her  feelings 
to  know  and  to  say  that  the  coming  peril  was  not 
altogether  on  her  personal  account.  There  had  been 
even  an  exaggerated  report  made  to  the  mob  leaders 
of  the  number  of  colored  people  who  had  fled  to  Mrs. 
Redding's,  or  rather  to  Diana  Lee's  house,  for  safety. 
"  We  must  go  somewhere, "  said  Lilian.  "  We  must 
get  away  as  quickly  as  we  can !" 

"Where  can  we  go?"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Redding. 

316 


FORT    REDDING.  217 

"We  can't  go  anywhere!"  groaned  Mrs.  Randolph; 
and  it  ahnost  seemed  as  if  she  were  right,  and  as  if 
every  path  to  safety  were  closed  up. 

"I  know!"  shouted  Barry  as  a  sudden  idea  struck 
him.  "  Come  on,  Dave.  I'll  get  the  axe.  You  fetch 
the  step-ladder." 

"What  is  it,  Barry?"  asked  his  mother. 

"That  house  to  rent!  Don't  you  know?"  he  hastily 
replied.  "Straight  back  from  ours  in  the  block  on 
the  other  street.  Go  through  our  back  yard  into 
that  back  yard  and  get  into  it.     It's  empty." 

"You  can't  get  in;  it's  locked,"  said  Mrs.  Eedding 
in  a  tone  that  was  more  than  half -despairing. 

"We  can  burst  in  the  backdoor,"  said  Barry. 
"  Come  on,  Dave.  The  mob  won't  find  any  of  us  in 
this  house." 

"  I'm  ready !"  shouted  Dave,  as  he  sprang  away  after 
the  step-ladder. 

"Bress  de  Lord!"  remarked  Diana.  "I  jistknowed 
he'd  find  some  way  o'  lettin'  us  out." 

"Mrs.  Eandolph, "  said  Mrs.  Redding,  "we  can  pack 
up  some  things  if  we're  quick." 

Out  went  the  boys  and  over  the  back  fence;    and 

then  it  was  a  wonder  how  rapidly  the  fastenings  of 

the  back  door  of   the  empty  house  gave  way  before 

the  all  but  frantic  blows  of  Barry's  axe.     He  felt  as 

if  he  were  chopping  for  life — for  a  dozen  lives. 
15 


218  THE    BATTLE    OF   NEW    YORK. 

"There!"  he  shouted,  as  the  door  went  in;  "now 
for  the  folks!  We  could  go  through  to  the  other 
street  if  we  wanted  to." 

"They'd  follow  us,"  said  Davis. 

"  Not  if  they  don't  know  where  we've  gone,"  rej)lied 
Barry ;  but  his  heart  sank  a  little  as  he  acknowledged 
that  danger. 

It  was  drawing  toward  midnight,  and  all  houses 
in  the  neighborhood  were  closed.  Besides,  none  of 
them  seemed  to  offer  any  promise  of  better  safety. 
Something  like  safety  could  possibly  be  gained,  if 
everybody  could  get  far  enough  away  from  Mrs.  Bed- 
ding's house  before  the  arrival  of  the  enemy.  Diana 
and  her  colored  friends  were  already  getting  over  the 
back  fence,  and  they  were  trying  hard  to  do  it  silently, 
but  they  were  not  succeeding  very  well,  for  the  air 
was  full  of — 

"Hush,  you!" 

"Don'  say  a  word!" 

"  Jes'  you  keep  still,  honey!" 

"Sho!     Now!     Hush  up!" 

"Don't  ye  make  a  loud  soun'!  Bress  de  Lord,  I's 
ober  de  fence!" 

The  "house  to  rent"  was  of  about  the  same  size 
with  Mrs.  Bedding's,  and  the  new  colored  tenants  did 
not  seem  inclined  to  pause  in  the  basement  they  fran- 
tically rushed  through. 


FORT   REDDING.  219 

"Right  upstairs!"  exclaimed  Diana,  as  soon  as  she 
was  in.  "I's  loaded  with  things.  I'll  jes'  put  'em 
away  an'  go  back  foh  some  moah.  But  'pears  like  I 
wanted  to  go  up  an'  git  out  onto  de  ruff!'' 

Dave  and  Barry  were  quickly  back  in  their  own 
house,  but  their  first  anxiety  was  for  a  look  at  things 
in  the  street.  They  peered  out  at  the  parlor-windows, 
and  for  a  moment  they  almost  felt  more  hopeful,  all 
was  so  night-like  and  so  still.  Could  it  be  that  there 
was  any  danger? 

"Hark!"  suddenly  exclaimed  a  voice  behind  them. 
"  Miss  Lihan !" 

"Ida,  do  you  hear  anything?     Was  that " 

"It's  the  mob!"  shouted  Barry.  "I  can  hear  them. 
What  were  they  so  still  for?     They  are  coming!" 

The  rush  of  men  that  was  pouring  along  that  street 
had  made  no  effort  at  keeping  silence;  but  they  had 
already  shouted  much  that  sultry  evening,  and  they 
were  in  haste  now  with  a  deadly  errand  on  their  hands. 
The  mere  tread  of  their  feet  had  been  nothing  in  the 
great  tumult  of  the  city  until  it  drew  very  near. 

Down  came  the  windows.  The  blinds  were  shut 
and  fastened,  while  Lilian  and  Ida  Hancock  darted 
upstairs  to  warn  Mrs.  Randolph  and  Mrs.  Redding. 

The  seeming  silence  was  gone,  for  suddenly  all  the 
street  was  flooded  with  furious  rioters.  It  was  a  sort 
of  Babel  of  shouts  and  threats  and  profanity,  mingled 


220  THE   BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

with  fierce  demands  for  the  opening  of  the  door  and 
for  the  surrender  of  the  colored  people.  A  heavy 
stone  was  hurled  through  one  of  the  parlor-windows, 
crashing  the  glass  and  the  blinds,  and  through  that 
opening  Barry  shouted  back : 

"No  colored  people  here!     All  gone!" 

A  roar  of  savage  denial  replied  to  him,  and  it  was 
as  if  any  escape  of  their  intended  victims  was  regarded 
by  the  angry  ruffians  as  an  injury  done  to  themselves. 
Their  prey  had  been  snatched  from  them,  if  it  had 
been,  and  they  would  have  revenge  on  anybody  in 
that  house. 

The  other  houses  on  either  side  and  across  the 
street,  were  not  only  all  closed  but  carefully  darkened. 
The  street-lamps  were  out,  and  only  the  torches  carried 
by  some  of  the  mob  threw  any  light  upon  the  grimy 
faces  turned  up  at  Mrs.  Bedding's  windows. 

"Hurry,  mother!"  shouted  Barry.  "Dave  and  I've 
got  the  revolvers." 

"Eun,  Lilian!"  said  Mrs.  Eandolph,  "run!" 

"I  won't  leave  the  boys!"  shivered  Lilian. 
"  They're  going  to  fight !  I'm  going  to  help!  Do  go, 
mother!  I  can  run  if  I  need  to." 

"Run,  all  of  you!"  yelled  Dave.  "Get  out  over 
the  fence!     They're  coming  uj)  the  steps  now." 

"We  haven't  a  moment  to  spare,"  gasped  Mrs. 
Redding.     "I'm  afraid  it's  too  late.     Shoot,  Barry!" 


FORT    REDDING.  221 

There  had  been  an  effort  made  to  save  something, 
for  there  had  been  no  doubt  but  what  the  house 
would  be  burned  as  well  as  plundered,  like  other 
houses  assailed  by  that  mob.  With  the  help  of  Diana 
and  her  colored  friends,  trunks  of  clothing  and  a 
number  of  other  things  had  been  thrown  over  the 
back-yard  fence.  All  the  women  had  felt  more  coura- 
geous, too,  while  they  were  rescuing  property  from  the 
robbers.  Both  Mrs.  Redding  and  Mrs.  Eandolph  had 
even  now  come  downstairs  with  their  hands  full,  but 
they  dropped  whatever  it  was,  and  seized  Lilian  just 
as  she  exclaimed : 

"Why  didn't  I  get  a  pistol!     I  could  shoot,  too!" 

"Now,  Dave!"  said  Barry;  "they  are  staving  in 
the  door!" 

Loud  rang  the  reports  of  those  two  revolvers. 
There  was  no  such  thing  as  taking  aim,  but  no  aim 
was  needed  in  firing  into  such  a  pack. 

There  was  a  rattle  of  answering  shots,  a  shower  of 
stones  and  clubs,  a  crash  of  glass,  and  there  were 
shrieks,  groans,  yells 

"Oh,  boys!"  came  despairingly  from  the  basement 
stairway.  "They  are  breaking  in  the  area-door,  too. 
Come !" 

"They  can't!  It's  iron!"  shouted  back  Barry  as 
he  fired  again  and  again.     "Run,  mother!" 

"Come  now!"  she  screamed. 


222  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

"Barry,"  said  Dave,  "my  pistol's  empty -" 

"So  is  mine.  Load  up,"  said  Barry.  "They're 
hesitating  'bout  something." 

"Last  chance  we've  got,"  said  Dave  with  his  hand 
full  of  cartridges. 

It  was  an  awful  moment,  for  the  front  door  was 
giving  way. 

Out  in  the  yard  there  were  now  what  seemed  four 
shadows  walking  through  the  darkness,  and  turning 
to  look  at  the  house  they  had  left. 

"The  boys  will  be  killed!"  groaned  Mrs.  Eedding. 

"Why  don't  they  come?"  screamed  Mrs.  Randolph. 
"They  can  do  no  more." 

"  What's  that?"  exclaimed  Lilian.  "  Hark !  I  heard 
something!" 

They  all  heard  it,  and  they  could  not  at  once  under- 
stand what  it  said,  but  it  was  the  sound  made  by 
twenty  rifles  fired  together,  at  the  word  of  command, 
followed  quickly  by  the  precisely  similar  report  of  twen- 
ty more.     It  was  at  the  moment  when  Barry  shouted : 

"I've  loaded!  There  goes  the  door!  The  inside 
door  won't  keep  'em  back  a  minute.  Hear  the  glass 
break!" 

He  and  Dave  sprang  out  of  the  parlor  into  the  hall, 
firing  at  the  men  who  had  rushed  into  the  narrow 
vestibule,  and  some  of  these  fired  back  while  others 
shoved  at  the  door. 


"  The  inside  door  won't  keep  "em  back  a  minute . 


FORT    EEDDING.  223 

One  volley,  two  volleys,  three,  four,  in  quick  suc- 
cession, a  short  distance  up  the  street — and  then  a 
stentorian  voice  shouted : 

" Charge  bayonets !     Charge!" 

Down  came  the  steady  lines  of  steel.  Shoulder  to 
shoulder  closed  the  disciplined  files  of  stalwart  men. 
Forward,  unflinchingly,  through  a  shower  of  shots 
and  stones ;  for  these  were  a  full  company  of  United 
States  regular  infantry,  and  behind  them  rolled  the 
heavy  wheels  of  two  field-pieces.  It  was  a  detach- 
ment on  its  way  to  reinforce  the  soldiers  who  had 
been  defeated  on  First  Avenue,  to  rescue  the  wounded 
left  there,  to  carry  away  the  dead,  and  to  finish  the 
awful  work  that  had  been  begun  by  the  defeated 
detachment.  It  had  found  this  fragment  of  the  mob 
in  its  way. 

Just  in  the  nick  of  time ! 

"What!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Randolph  in  the  back 
yard,  "have  the  soldiers  come?" 

"Bress  de  Lord!"  shouted  Diana  Lee,  climbing  over 
the  fence  with  miraculous  agility — for  her.  "  I  heerd 
'em  charge  bay-nits !" 

"My  son!"  Two  voices  said  it,  and  two  women 
darted  back  toward  the  house  they  had  fled  from. 

The  rioters  in  the  vestibule  had  heard  the  volleys 
and  the  order  to  charge,  and  they  knew  that  their 
comrades  in  the   street  were  falling  back.      Before 


224  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

them  rang  again  revolver-shots.  The  door  went 
crashing  in,  but  the  very  men  who  had  broken  its 
frail  barriers  sprang  back  to  look  at  things  in  the 
street. 

A  bayonet  charge  is  a  thing  which  only  the  best 
troops  in  the  world  can  either  make  or  face.  It  is  so 
close,  so  sure,  so  merciless,  so  terribly  effective,  for 
the  cold  steel  does  not  miss.  It  is  the  very  despera- 
tion of  battles,  and  the  mob  shrank  and  wilted  before 
it.  Back  swiftly,  steadily  pressed,  yelling,  howling, 
beaten,  then  racing  away  for  life,  went  the  mob  which 
had  so  nearly  succeeded. 

"Barry,  are  you  safe?" 

"Davis,  are  you  hurt?" 

"0  Dave,  where  are  you?"  asked  Lilian.  "It  is 
so  dark!" 

Dark  it  was,  but  Ida  must  have  had  a  match  in  her 
pocket,  for  just  then  she  struck  one  and  passed  it 
rapidly  from  one  gas-jet  to  another,  until  the  parlors 
and  hall  were  a  blaze  of  light.  What  a  ruin  the  win- 
dows were !  and  stones  had  broken  the  globes  of  the 
chandelier ! 

"Mother,"  said  Dave,  as  she  hugged  him,  "the sol- 
diers were  just  in  time." 

"Barry,  you  are  hurt  I"  sobbed  Mrs.  Redding  as  she 
held  him  up. 

"Something's  the  matter  with  my  right  leg,"  he 


FORT   REDDING.  225 

said;  "but  my  pistol's  empty  again.  I  want  to  load 
up." 

The  officer  in  command  of  the  troops  had  halted 
them  before  the  house,  that  he  might  make  sure  of 
its  safety  before  going  further,  while  his  men  fired  a 
finishing  brace  of  volleys  after  the  fleeing  rioters. 
He  was  a  tall,  fine-looking  young  fellow,  and  he 
seemed  to  move  with  something  of  the  precision  of  a 
machine,  as  the  men  under  him  had  done  in  firing 
and  in  charging.  He  was  now  on  his  way  toward 
the  steps  of  Mrs.  Eedding's  house,  not  walking  in  any 
haste  or  seeming  at  all  excited.  As  he  did  so  the 
brilliant  glare  of  light  showed  him  a  pale-faced,  flash- 
ing-eyed girl  of  perhaps  about  sixteen,  whose  hands 
were  full  of  flags.  That  is,  she  had  seized  a  roll  of 
bunting  out  of  which  two  staffs  were  sticking,  and 
she  was  nervously  unrolling  it. 

"Hurrah!"  she  shouted,  as  she  darted  out  through 
the  vestibule. 

The  lieutenant  himself  responded  to  her  with  a 
polite  raising  of  his  hat,  and  he,  too,  said  "Hurrah!" 

It  was  as  if  he  had  given  a  signal  to  his  men,  and 
they  added  a  hearty  round  of  cheers ;  but  a  man  in 
the  ranks  remarked:  "One  of  them  flags  is  Confed," 

"Come  in,  Lilian!  Come  in!"  exclaimed  Mrs. 
Eandolph.     "You  are  waving  both  flags!" 

"I  don't  care  if  I  am!"  shouted  Lilian.     "Oh,  how 


226  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

glad  I  am  they  got  here!  They've  saved  us  all!  I 
think  they  are  splendid !"  , 

"Lieutenant,"  sang  out  Davis,  "both  of  those  flags 
are  from  Gettysburg !" 

"All  right,"  said  the  lieutenant,  smiling  and  bow- 
ing to  Lilian ;  but  he  turned  to  her  mother  and  asked 
with  precision : 

"Madam,  were  any  of  the  inmates  of  the  house 
injured?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  replied  Mrs.  Redding  from  the  floor,  on 
which  Barry  had  been  compelled  to  sit  down,  with  her 
beside  him,  "my  son  is  wounded  in  the  leg." 

"Surgeon!"  shouted  the  lieutenant  toward  his  com- 
mand. "This  way,  as  soon  as  you've  attended  that 
man.  Madam,  I'll  see  how  it  is  myself.  Some  of 
our  men  were  hurt " 

"0  Barry!"  exclaimed  Lilian,  whirling  around  and 
pitching  both  her  flags  before  her  down  the  hall.  "I 
didn't  know  you  were  wounded !" 

"Not  much,  I  guess,"  he  said,  "but  Dave  and  I 
have  been  in  a  battle,  after  all.  I  hardly  knew  I  was 
hit  till  it  was  all  over." 

"Soldier  boy!"  said  the  smiling  lieutenant.  "I  felt 
that  way  myself.  All  right,  madam.  I'll  bandage 
it  now.  The  surgeon  will  do  the  rest.  Sergeant, 
here!  Help  me  put  him  on  a  sofa.  I'll  leave  a 
guard,  madam,  but  I  think  you  will  have  no  more 


FORT    REDDING.  227 

trouble.  A  force  of  police  will  be  here  in  a  few  min- 
utes. Our  men  are  needed  on  First  Avenue.  I'll  call 
in  the  morning.  Good-night.  Good-night,  my  girl 
with  two  flags,  both  from  Gettysburg." 

Off  he  went,  and  away  marched  his  men,  with  the 
dangerous-looking  brass  field-pieces  trundling  behind 
them.  How  could  he  look  so  smiling,  so  polite,  so 
almost  humorous  in  the  midst  of  such  dreadful  work, 
and  just  after  a  hard  fight  and  a  bayonet  charge? 

If  Mrs.  Eandolph  had  indeed  asked  herself  that 
question,  she  replied  to  it  aloud : 

"  He  is  a  genuine  soldier.     Such  a  gentleman,  too. 

I  wish  I  knew  his  name,  but  he  didn't  give  it " 

and  then  she  joined  all  the  rest,  who  were  kneeling  or 
standing  around  Barry,  on  the  sofa. 

Among  them  knelt  a  gentleman  in  uniform,  who 
had  just  taken  his  fingers  away  from  a  neatly  fitted 
bandage  upon  Barry's  right  thigh. 

"There!"  he  said.  "That  furrow  must  have  been 
ploughed  by  a  ball  from  a  smooth-bore  gun,  for  it  is 
not  torn  at  all.  Our  ragged  rifle -bullets  make  worse 
wounds  than  that.  He  will  be  out  again  before  many 
days.  Brave  fellow !  His  mother  and  sister  and  aunt 
ought  to  be  proud  of  him." 

Mrs.  Randolph  stooped  right  down  and  kissed  Barry, 
remarking : 

"Well!  if  he  and  Davis  are  not  really  cousins,  they 


228  THE   BATTLE    OF   NEW    YORK. 

stood  by  each  other  like  two  brothers.  We  are  proud 
of  him,  too." 

"He  is  a  brother  of  mine,''  said  Lihan  with  great 
emphasis;  but  all  that  Dave  could  think  of  to  say  was: 

"Does  it  hurt  you  much,  Barry?" 

"Smarts  like  everything,"  said  the  wounded  boy, 
"but  we  beat  them  off!" 

"You  kept  them  at  bay  until  help  came,"  said  the 
surgeon  cheerfully,  as  he  shut  up  his  instrument  case 
and  looked  around  for  his  hat. 

He  was  thanked  tremendously,  but  it  was  to  be 
doubted  if  one  man  could  remember  and  deliver  all 
the  thanks  that  the  household  tried  to  send  by  him  to 
the  lieutenant  and  his  men. 

There  was  a  soldier  on  guard  at  the  door  when  the 
surgeon  went  away,  but  he  had  to  remain  only  a  few 
minutes  before  a  strong  squad  of  police  arrived.  Their 
first  dvity  was  to  care  for  wounded  men  and  to  clear 
the  street  of  several  lifeless  relics  of  the  severe  strug- 
gle it  had  witnessed.  The  traces  of  it  upon  the  house 
front  could  not  so  easily  be  removed. 

"The  city  will  have  to  pay  for  it  all,  anyhow,"  said 
one  of  the  police  officers.  "I  shouldn't  wonder  if  this 
riot  cost  our  tax-payers  several  millions  of  dollars. " 

"Do  you  think  the  mob  will  be  put  down?"  anx- 
iously asked  Mrs.  Eedding. 

"Put  down?"  replied    the    officer.      "Of  course  it 


FORT    REDDING.  229 

will.  The  old  soldiers  are  gathering  and  arming, 
regiments  of  them.  The  militia  are  hurrying  back. 
The  police  are  getting  the  upper  hand  again.  But 
it's  been  the  hardest  kind  of  battle  fought  right 
here  in  the  city  streets.  There's  no  telling  how  many 
hundreds  and  hundreds  of  men  have  been  killed  or 
wounded." 

After  that  there  was  a  pretty  quiet  time,  as  if 
everybody  was  too  worn  out  to  say  anything.  Even 
the  colored  people,  who  had  now  come  back  and  were 
trying  to  be  comfortable  downstairs,  were  talking  in 
whispers,  as  if  anything  loud  might  bring  back  the 
mob. 

"Dave!"  suddenly  exclaimed  Barry. 

"Hullo!"  replied  Dave.  "Does  that  thing  hurt 
again  ?" 

"No,"  said  Barry,  "but  don't  you  hear?     Listen!" 

"I  declare!  exclaimed  Mrs.  Randolph.  "It's  the 
sound  of  cannon !" 

"I  know!"  shouted  Dave.  "It's  the  cannon  the 
lieutenant  had  with  him.  He  said  he  was  going 
where  we  saw  that  fight.  They've  got  there  and 
they're  fighting  again." 

"I  don't  believe  he'll  be  beaten,"  said  Lilian. 
"There  they  go  again!" 

The  regulars  and  artillery,  with  a  police  force,  were 
indeed  in  a  hard  fight  with  the  mob,  and  they  were 


230  THE   BATTLE    OF   NEW   YORK. 

not  beaten,  but  there  was  an  officer  of  higher  rank  in 
command  instead  of  the  smiling  heutenant.  When 
that  fight  was  ended  the  strength  of  the  mob  there 
was  broken. 

It  had  long  since  been  bed-time,  but  there  was  little 
sleeping  done  in  Mrs.  Bedding's  house  that  night. 
The  next  morning  found  Barry  almost  comfortable, 
though  feverish ;  but  a  doctor  who  came  to  see  him 
made  Lilian  almost  angry  by  speaking  lightly  of  so 
very  dreadful  a  wound. 

As  the  day  went  on,  other  people  called  at  the  house, 
and  among  them  was  Mr.  Hunker. 

"Mrs.  Eedding,"  he  said,  after  a  prying  examina- 
tion of  the  injury  done  to  the  house,  "your  havin' 
colored  people  araound  makes  you  liabul  for  them 
damages.  You  provoked  the  mob  to  do  it,  and  you 
are  responsible.  The  city's  got  to  pay,  too,  and 
they've  got  to  pay  me  for  a  suit  of  clothin',  and  a 
watch,  and  a  hat,  and  a  pair  of  boots,  and " 

"  You'd  better  send  them  your  bill,  then,"  responded 
Mrs.  Eedding  sharply;  "but  I  shall  not  pay  any  rent 
until  the  house  is  put  in  good  order  again." 

All  that  he  or  anybody  else  had  to  say,  however, 
was  as  nothing  to  the  talk  of  Kid  and  the  Shiner, 
when  they  came  up  at  noon  to  see  Barry  and  to  bring 
him  some  "extras." 

Because  they  were  not  allowed  to  talk  much  in 


FORT    REDDING.  231 

Barry's  room,  they  seemed  to  feel  all  the  more  a  kind 
of  duty  to  tell  all  they  knew  to  Davis  and  Lilian  and 
the  rest. 

"Tell  you  what,"  said  Kid  at  last,  "you  folks  are 
plucky  to  have  the  Stars  and  Stripes  hung  out  in 
front  of  such  a  lookin'  house  as  this  is." 

"I  did  that,"  said  Lilian.  "The  police  said  it  was 
all  right.  So  did  Lieutenant  Allen  when  he  came  to 
ask  how  we  were  this  morning.  They  said  the  mob 
would  never  come  again." 

"It's  rigged  out  everywhere  downtown, "  remarked 
the  Shiner.     "That  means  this  'ere  mob  is  busted." 

Barry  lay  in  his  bed  looking  out  through  the  open 
window. 

"Mother,"  he  said  feverishly,  "I  wish  father  would 
hurry  and  come  home.  When  he  gets  here  I  can  tell 
him  I  know  what  war  is,  I  know  what  the  flag 
means,  too." 

"It  means  peace  and  safety,"  said  Mrs.  Redding, 
"but  it  does  seem  as  if  we  had  to  fight  pretty  hard 
to  get  them,  and  they  haven't  come  yet." 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  GREAT  DAY  THAT  CAME, 

'LL  New  York  felt  pretty  badly  on  the  morn- 
ing of  Thursday,  the  16th  of  July.  Most 
people  felt  as  if  they  had  been  up  all  night. 
They  felt,  too,  that  nobody  could  guess 
what  kind  of  day  it  was  going  to  be.  It  was 
a  dreadful  thing  not  to  know  whether  or  not 
the  whole  city  was  about  to  be  plundered  and  burned, 
and  it  was  said  pretty  correctly  that  the  police,  brave 
as  they  had  proved  themselves,  were  nearly  exhausted 
by  their  long,  hard  struggle  with  superior  numbers. 
The  leaders  of  the  mob  actually  believed  that  they 
had  gained  the  victory  and  were  soon  to  have  things 
their  own  way,  for  they  could  not  understand  that 
their  rising  had  gained  any  successes  mainly  by  a  sud- 
den surprise,  and  that  surprises  do  not  last. 

"Mother,"  said  Barry  toward  noon,  as  he  moved 
feverishly  on  his  bed,  "  I  want  to  get  well  right  away." 
"Of  course  you  will,"  she  said.  "You  are  not 
wounded  anything  like  as  badly  as  your  father  is." 
And  as  she  turned  and  looked  out  of  the  window  it 
was  almost  as  if  she  were  more  proud  than  sorry, 

233 


THE    GREAT    DAY    THAT    CAME.  233 

especially  as  botli .  of  her  wounded  soldiers  were  likely 
to  get  well  so  quickly. 

"Oh!"  exclaimed  Barry,  "how  my  leg  hurts  to 
move  it!  But  I  wish  I  knew  what  was  going  on. 
Where's  Dave?" 

"Why,"  said  Mrs.  Redding,  "he  went  out.  We 
don't  know  where  he  is." 

"  I  want  to  see  him  soon's  he  gets  back,"  said  Barry ; 
and  every  soul  in  the  house  was  brimful  of  that  very 
wish,  for  Dave  had  slipped  out  after  news. 

Nobody  had  seen  him  go,  or  he  might  have  been 
kept  at  home,  but  he  was  now  away  over  on  Broad- 
way, standing  at  a  corner  and  listening. 

"  Musketry  both  sides  of  the  city, "  he  said.  "  There ! 
cannon  again.  They  say  even  the  military  have  been 
beaten  again  and  again.  How  smoky  the  air  is! 
Hullo!" 

He  turned  and  looked  down  Broadway,  for  at  that 
moment  he  heard  something  that  seemed  to  encourage 
him,  although  it  was  not  a  very  loud  noise ;  nothing 
but  a  shrill  fife  and  a  couple  of  drums — barely  enough 
music  to  march  by. 

"There  they  come!"  shouted  Barry.  "Hurrah! 
Now  we're  all  right!" 

"That's  the  Sixty-ninth,   sor,"  said  a  voice   near 

him.      "It's    the  Irish  rigiment,  home  from  Gittys- 

boorg.     Thim's  the  b'yes  to  shtraighten  things." 
16 


234  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Up  the  street  they  came,  a  body  of  men  to  be  proud 
of,  beyond  a  doubt ;  but  they  wore  a  wearied  look  that 
hot  noon-time,  and  Dave  found  out  that  they  were  to 
be  scattered  in  garrison  squads  all  over  the  city. 

"There's  more  coming,"  said  the  half -sick -looking 
policeman  who  told  him,  "but  this  is  the  hardest  day 
of  all." 

So  it  proved,  in  some  respects,  but  Dave  learned  a 
great  deal  about  New  York  before,  late  in  the  after- 
noon, he  went  home.  He  went  in  as  he  had  gone  out, 
without  any  help,  and  before  any  one  expected  him 
he  was  in  the  second -story  front  room  where  Barry 
lay.     So  v>^ere  nearly  all  the  rest  of  the  household. 

"Dave!"  exclaimed  Barry,  "how's  the  mob?" 

"0  Dave!"  said  Lilian,  coming  in,  "what  did  you 
see?     Has  anything  happened?" 

Right  in  the  middle  of  half  a  dozen  other  questions, 
Dave  answered  them  all. 

"Fighting  all  day,  but  the  soldiers  are  here,  and 
they  are  going  to  fight  the  mob  all  night.  More 
a-coming." 

"That  is  good  news!"  said  his  mother,  and  the  rest 
agreed  with  her;  but  he  had  only  told  exactly  what 
came  to  pass. 

Some  of  the  severest  fighting  of  the  whole  riot  was 
done  in  the  dark,  or  almost  in  the  dark,  that  Thursday 
night.     It  went  on  from  street  to  street,  hour  after 


THE    GREAT    DAY    THAT   CAME.  235 

hour,  but  all  the  while  there  were  more  soldiers  and 
fewer  rioters.  Midnight  came  before  the  mob  began 
to  feel  that  it  was  broken,  but  the  central  part  of  the 
city  was  cleared  before  sunrise,  and  by  breakfast-time 
there  was  a  kind  of  dull,  anxious  quiet,  for  the  law 
had  gained  the  victory. 

Eegiment  after  regiment  came  pouring  in  on  Fri- 
day, and  about  all  the  duty  given  them  was  to  march 
through  the  streets  and  let  it  be  seen  that  they  had 
really  come,  and  that  the  battle  in  New  York  was 
ended.  It  was  said  that  over  fourteen  hundred  men 
had  been  killed  in  it. 

Saturday  morning  there  were  workmen  busy  upon 
the  repairs  of  Mrs.  Bedding's  house-front,  and  busi- 
ness downtown  was  beginning  to  stir  again ;  but  the 
whole  city  needed  Sunday  to  rest  in. 

After  that,  it  was  a  matter  of  course  that  a  pretty 
dull  spell  should  follow  such  a  tremendous  excitement. 
Barry  had  an  idea  that  it  was  so  dull  because  he  was 
in  bed,  until  after  he  got  up  a  few  days  later,  and 
found  that  it  was  every  bit  as  dull  to  limp  around  the 
house  and  wish  he  could  get  out  of  it. 

Dave  and  Lilian  said  that  it  was  because  General 
Lee  had  retreated  into  Virginia,  so  that  nobody  could 
expect  another  great  battle  right  away.  So  they  and 
their  mother  took  to  reading,  and  did  not  have  to  think 
so  much  about  the  war. 


236  THE    BATTLE    OF   NEW    YORK. 

Mrs.  Eedding  almost  agreed  with  Diana  in  her 
opinion  that  "Dah  won't  be  nufifin  of  any  'count  till 
dis  hot  wedder's  ober,  an'  folks  come  back  from  whah 
day's  gone.  We'll  have  all  de  boahders  we  want 
den,  but  de  house  'pears  awful  empty  jist  now." 

Even  Kid  and  the  Shiner,  whenever  they  came  to 
inquire  about  Barry's  leg  and  ask  if  it  hurt  him  much 
to  walk,  complained  of  a  slowness  in  the  news  mar- 
ket. People  did  not  seem  to  have  that  interest  in 
extra  editions  which  they  once  had. 

There  was  a  great  break  in  the  dulness  in  one 
household  one  day,  for  a  carriage  drove  to  the  door 
and  a  man  on  crutches  got  out  of  it.  He  did  not 
have  to  ring  the  door-bell,  for  there  had  been  faces  at 
the  windows  of  people  waiting — waiting. 

"Father!"  shouted  Barry,  but  Mrs.  Eedding  could 
not  say  one  word  as  she  hurried  to  the  door  and 
opened  it. 

"Sho!"  exclaimed  Diana.  "All  o'  you  uns  keep 
back  an'  let  de  pore  soul  hug  him.  Bress  de  Lord 
f  er  lettin'  him  come !" 

Barry  hardly  limped  as  he,  in  a  few  seconds,  fol- 
lowed his  mother,  and  what  those  three  said  was  not 
exactly  spoken  or  heard.  The  best  things  that  are 
ever  said — well,  they  cannot  be  said  at  all,  and  they 
are  understood  just  as  well. 

"How  d'ye  do.  Colonel  Redding?"  said  Dave,  after 


THE    GREAT    DAY   THAT   CAME.  237 

a  glance  at  the  new  shoulder-straps  that  Barry's 
father  wore.  "I'm  glad  the  surgeon  was  right  about 
your  leg." 

"How  are  you,  my  young  friend?"  replied  the 
colonel  heartily.  "This  is  a  better  place  than  the 
hospital  tent  where  you  saw  me.  Is  this  Mrs.  Ean- 
dolph?     And  her  daughter?     How  d'ye  do,  Diana?" 

The  talking  went  on  rapidly  for  a  few  minutes,  but 
the  whole  of  it  could  not  be  done  in  the  parlor.  There 
was  one  thought  on  the  mind  of  Mrs.  Eedding  which 
came  out  almost  as  soon  as  they  were  alone  together 
in  their  room. 

"Dear!  dear!"  she  exclaimed.  "I  haven't  any 
boarders  to  speak  of  now,  but  I  hope  they  will  all  be 
back  again  in  the  fall.  The  mob  scared  away  nearly 
all  I  had  left.     What  shall  we  do?" 

"Why,  my  dear,"  very  cheerfully  responded  her 
husband,  "you  needn't  worry  about  that.  We  don't 
need  any  boarders." 

"Why  don't  we?"  she  asked. 

"Why?"  said  he.  "Well,  we  can  get  along  on  a 
colonel's  pay  and  rations  even  in  these  times." 

"Of  course  we  can!"  exclaimed  his  wife.  "I  didn't 
think  of  that.     And  your  leg's  almost  well,  too." 

Letters  had  told  a  great  deal,  of  course,  but 
Barry  and  Davis  were  proud  boys  while  the  returned 
veteran  listened  to  the  story  of  the  mob  attack  and 


23S  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

hobbled  into  the  hall  to  see  where  they  had  faced  the 
rioters. 

"Hurrah!"  shouted  Colonel  Eedding.  "Good  for 
you  boys!  I  wish  I'd  been  with  you.  You  did  a 
brave  thing!     They  held  the  fort!" 

He  said  more  than  that,  but  Diana  had  a  grief  to 
unfold  which  she  had  kept  to  herself  till  then. 

"  Sho !"  she  said.  "  I  had  de  big  kettle  full  of  boilin' 
water  foh  de  mob,  an'  I  didn't  have  no  chance  to  put 
it  on  'em.  I  done  gone  forgot  it  w'en  I  went  ober  de 
fence." 

"Whatever  became  of  Ida  Hancock?"  inquired  the 
colonel. 

"Ida?"  said  his  wife.  "Why,  her  friends  came  for 
her  that  Saturday  and  sent  her  home  to  Boston.  I've 
had  a  letter  from  her.  She  is  going  to  teach  in  an- 
other school  this  fall." 

"  Barry's  going  to  school  again,  too,"  said  his  father. 
"  It  won't  hurt  him  to  have  been  a  newsboy  and  a 
fighting  man,  but  he  must  have  something  else." 

"I'll  be  glad  of  that,"  began  Barry  slowly,  for  it 
was  a  new  idea  that  he  was  hardly  ready  for;  and 
while  his  mother  was  saying  something  about  it,  he 
turned  to  Dave  and  said : 

"Wish  you  could  go  with  me." 

"I?"  said  Dave.  "Oh,  I've  got  to  do  something. 
I'm  going  to  learn  the  banking  business.    I've  a  place 


THE  GREAT  DAY  THAT  CAME.         239 

to  begin  next  week,  with  Washington  Vernon  &  Co., 
on  Wall  Street." 

"Mr.  Vernon  is  an  old  friend  of  our  family,"  ex- 
plained Mrs.  Randolph.  "I  shall  be  glad  to  have 
Davis  with  him." 

"That's  tip-top!"  shouted  Barry.  "By  the  time  I 
get  out  of  school  Dave '11  be  making  piles  of  money. 
I  don't  care.     Just  you  go  ahead,  Dave." 

"I  must  do  something  myself,"  said  Mrs.  Randolph. 
"Lilian  thinks  that  she  and  I  could  keep  a  boarding- 
house.     We  have  so  many  Southern  friends." 

"Why,  Mrs.  Randolph!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Redding, 
"I've  thought  of  that!  You  can  keep  this  house, 
then,  and  we  will  board  with  you.  I'm  tired  of  it, 
and  I  want  to  give  all  the  time  I  can  to  my  husband. 
Besides,  you  are  a  better  manager  than  I  am." 

"I  don't  know  about  that,"  said  Mrs.  Randolph. 
"Lilian  must  go  to  school  too.  I  want  her  to  be  as 
well  educated  as  Ida  Hancock.  That  girl  astonished 
me.     If  all  the  colored  people  were  like  her " 

"They  are  not,  then,"  said  the  colonel.  "They're 
just  like  white  people.  Some  are  worth  something 
and  some  are  of  no  use  whatever." 

So  all  things  began  to  get  settled,  but  all  were  a 
long  time  in  settling. 

The  year  1863  ended,  and  1864  came  and  went,  and 
so  did  1865. 


240  THE   BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Boys  who  were  over  fifteen  in  the  middle  days  of 
the  Civil  War  were  of  almost  army  age  when  it  ended. 
It  was  a  dreadfully  long,  slow  time,  and  all  the  coun- 
try grew  more  and  more  weary  of  war  and  war  news. 
The  army  called  for  more  men  from  time  to  time,  but 
there  were  no  more  riots  anywhere. 

There  were  no  disturbances  of  any  kind  in  Mrs. 
EandClph's  boarding-house,  excepting  that  Barry 
Eedding  now  and  then  complained  of  the  scornful 
way  in  which  a  girl  of  only  nineteen  could  treat  a 
young  man  of  eighteen,  one  of  the  best  oars  in  the 
Columbia  College  boat.  But  then  that  was  when  she 
threatened  to  box  his  ears  for  calling  her  a  rebel,  and 
when  he  was  teasing  her  about  certain  letters  that 
came  to  her  frequently  from  the  army. 

Letters  did  come,  and  it  was  also  true  that  Lilian 
did  her  best  to  be  on  hand  to  meet  the  postman. 

The  spring  days  of  1865  were  very  beautiful. 
Somehow  or  other,  however,  they  did  not  seem  to  be 
appreciated.  A  sort  of  cloud  was  in  people's  eyes 
and  over  their  minds  and  hearts. 

"0  Mrs.  Eandolph!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Eedding  one 
morning,  "this  is  all  so  useless,  these  last  battles. 
Everybody  knows  already  what  the  end  will  be,  and 
yet  they  go  on  fighting." 

"Yes,  it  is  dreadful!"  moaned  Mrs.  Eandolph,  "but 
it  must  come  to  an  end.     I'm  glad  Davis  is  not  there, 


THE    GREAT    DAY    THAT   CAME.  241 

nor  Barry,  but  then  your  husband  is  with  Sherman ; 
there  may  not  be  any  battles  down  there." 

"He  is  marching  to  the  sea,"  said  Barry.  "I  don't 
know  whether  I'd  rather  be  with  him  or  with  Grant 
at  Richmond.     I  ought  to  be  somewhere." 

"You  ought  to  be  just  where  you  are,"  said  Davis. 
"So  ought  I.  I've  thought  it  all  over.  What's  that? 
Come  on,  Barry.  Come  along!  There's  news  of  some 
kind.     Hear  those  guns?" 

"Go — do!"  said  his  mother.  "There  must  be 
something."  For  what  they  heard  was  a  sound  of 
cannon. 

Out  they  went,  and  the  last  thing  that  thej  saw,  or 
only  half  saw,  as  they  left  the  house  and  hurried  to- 
ward Broadway,  was  Lilian  at  one  of  the  parlor- 
windows,  looking  out  and  listening.  It  was  the  first 
they  had  seen  of  her  that  morning,  and  she  drew 
back  quickly  for  some  unknown  reason. 

"Boom!  Boom!  Boom!"  went  the  heavy  guns  of 
the  forts  in  the  harbor  and  of  the  great  war-ships  lying 
at  anchor.  Quickly  after  them  followed  a  clangor  of 
other  sounds,  for  wherever  there  was  a  bell  in  any 
steeple  or  tower,  somebody  got  at  the  rope  of  it  and 
rang  like  mad.  Men  whom  Dave  and  Barry  never 
had  met  before  stopped  and  shook  hands  with  them. 
Women  stood  still  in  the  streets  and  swung  their 
handkerchiefs  and  wept  aloud. 


242  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Flags  went  flashing  up  on  flagstaffs  or  streamed 
from  open  windows. 

"It  is  too  good  to  be  true,  but  it  is  true!"  shouted 
Barry.  " Richmond  is  taken !  Lee  has  surrendered! 
Peace  has  come!" 

"I'm  old  enough  now  to  know  it's  the  best  thing 
for  both  sides,"  replied  Dave  soberly.  "I  can't  go 
back  to  the  house.     I  must  go  on  to  Vernon's." 

"I  will,  then,"  shouted  Barry.  "No  college  to-day. 
Hurrah!     I'll  take  a  newspaper." 

He  stopped  at  a  very  neat-looking  street-corner 
stand  loaded  with  newspapers,  magazines,  novels,  and 
knick-knacks,  and  saw  nearly  a  dozen  hands  besides 
his  own  reaching  out  at  the  same  moment. 

"Your  last  chance,  Barry,"  said  a  very  loud,  clear 
voice.     "There'll  be  another  extry  up  in  no  time." 

"Hullo,  Kid,"  said  Barry.     "Is  that  you?" 

"  Me  and  the  Shiner,"  said  Kid.  "  This  is  our  stand. 
Been  here  a  month.  If  we  keep  on  this  way,  we 
mean  to  start  a  paper  and  print  our  own  extrys. 
The  Shiner's  downtown." 

It  was  no  time  for  more  talk,  but  Barry  hurried 
home  with  his  paper.  As  he  drew  near  the  house,  he 
saw  something  that  made  him  exclaim : 

"They've  got  the  news.  Hullo!  if  that  isn't  Lil- 
ian's work!" 

It  must  have  been.     One  pretty  large  and  brilliant 


THE  GREAT  DAY  THAT  CAME.         243 

Stars  and  Stripes  was  already  fluttering  upon  its  staff 
from  one  of  the  parlor-windows,  but  over  the  front 
door  were  two  other  flags,  crossed  and  half-tied  with 
crape.  Both  of  these  were  somewhat  ragged  and 
soiled,  and  one  of  them  was  such  a  flag  as  had  gone 
down  forever  when  General  Lee  surrendered. 

"She  has  done  just  right!"  said  Barry. 

"So  she  has,"  remarked  a  full  yet  half -husky  voice 
behind  him. 

Barry  turned  and  saw  only  a  tall,  fine-looking 
young  fellow,  with  the  gold  leaves  of  a  major  on  his 
shoulder-straps  and  with  his  left  arm  in  a  sling.  It 
was  a  time  for  shaking  hands,  but  Barry  and  the 
major  shook  hands  without  saying  anything  and 
walked  on  to  the  house  side  by  side.  It  hardly  sur- 
prised Barry,  even  when  the  major  went  right  up  the 
steps  with  him. 

The  door  was  wide  open,  and  they  walked  on  into 
the  parlor.  "Mother,"  shouted  Barry,  "where  are 
you?     The  war  is  over !     Peace  has  come!" 

Nobody  answered  him,  and  he  stopped  suddenly  as 
a  pale-faced  girl,  dressed  all  in  black,  arose  from  a 
sofa  upon  which  she  seemed  to  have  thrown  herself, 
perhaps  after  arranging  those  flags  over  the  door. 
Perhaps,  too,  a  new  idea  occurred  to  Barry,  for  he 
turned  and  looked  again  at  the  officer  who  had  so 
coolly  walked  in  with  him.     "  Hullo !"  he  exclaimed. 


244  THE    BATTLE    OF   NEW   YORK. 

"Why,  major,  I  know  you  now.  How  are  you? 
Glad  you've  come.  Lilian,  I'm  going  up  to  find 
mother -" 

He  was  gone,  but  another  voice  out  in  the  hall  was 
mixed  with  a  sound  of  feet  rapping  the  floor,  as  if 
some  pretty  heavy  person  were  trying  to  dance. 

"Sho!  Degal!  Bress  de  Lord !  Hallelujah!  De 
peace!     Glory!" 

"Miss  RandoliDh — Lilian!"  exclaimed  the  major. 
"Don't  you  know  me?" 

"Know  you,  Henry  Allen?"  she  said.  "We  heard 
you  were  killed  three  days  ago  in  the  battle  before 
Richmond!" 

"Some  other  Allen,"  he  said.     "I'm  as  alive  as  I 

can  be "      Nobody  heard   the  rest  of  what  they 

said,  but  Diana  was  now  down  in  the  basement,  out 
at  the  door,  in  again,  and  it  sounded  as  if  she  were 
singing  a  hymn. 

Barry  went  upstairs  shouting : 

"Mother,  peace  has  come!"  But  he  told  the  rest  of 
his  good  news  rapidly,  and  added : 

"  Major  Allen  came  home  with  me.  I  was  real  glad 
to  see  him  again.  So  was  Lilian.  AVhat  a  night 
that  was " 

Perhaps  he  did  not  know  exactly  what  to  say,  but 
his  mother  exclaimed : 

"Lieutenant  Allen?     Why,  then,  he  wasn't  killed!" 


THE    GREAT    DAY    THAT   CAME.  245 

"No,  indeed,  he  wasn't,"  said  Barry,  "but  he's  a 
major  now.  Dark  bkie  staff-straps.  Left  arm  in  a 
sling.     Wasn't  hurt  much " 

"  Oh, I'm  so  glad, "  interrupted  his  mother.  "  I'll  go 
and  tell  Mrs.  Eandolph,  Then  I  must  see  him  my- 
self. If  all  this  isn't  wonderful!  Why,  Barry,  I'm 
hardly  sure  I'm  alive!     Your  father " 

"That's  it,"  said  Barry.  "We  shall  hear  from 
him  now  and  from  Sherman's  army.  No  more 
fighting  for  them,  now  Lee  has  surrendered.  Their 
campaign's  turned  into  a  picnic.  He'll  be  home 
before  long." 

"Just  hear  Diana!"  exclaimed  his  mother.  "I'm 
glad  she  can  sing.     I  couldn't,  but  I  can  thank  God!" 

The  city  was  brilliant  with  flags  and  wild  with  re- 
joicings, but  most  people,  after  all,  seemed  to  feel 
very  much  as  did  Mrs.  Redding,  and  were  hardly  sure 
whether  they  were  alive  or  not.  The  war  had  been 
so  long  and  they  had  become  so  used  to  it  that  it  was 
strange  and  half-unnatural  to  be  without  it. 

"Mr.  Vernon,"  said  Davis,  as  he  walked  into  the 
banker's  office,  "this  is  the  end." 

"I'm  glad  of  it!"  said  the  old  banker.  "I'm  as 
glad  as  anybody.  The  country  has  suffered  enough. 
What  did  you  say,  Mr.  Mapleson?" 

"  Not  much,"  replied  the  icy-eyed  politician,  as  coolly 
as  ever,  "but  it  will  take  some  years  to  get  anything 


246  THE   BATTLE    OF   NEW   YORK. 

settled.  Old  times  are  gone,  and  we  have  a  new  time 
to  build  up — a  new  country." 

"It  will  be  our  country,  God's  country,"  said  the 
white-headed  banker  reverently.  "I'm  really  glad 
we  are  to  have  but  one  flag  for  all  of  it." 

"So  am  I!"  said  Dave. 

It  was  just  about  that  time  that  Mrs.  Eandolph,  in 
the  hall,  called  out  to  her  daughter  in  the  parlor : 

"Lilian,  dear!  I've  taken  down  both  of  those  flags 
from  over  the  door.  This  is  not  a  day  of  mourn- 
ing." 

"Do  come  in,  mother,"  said  Lilian.  "Major  Allen 
is  here." 

"I'm  coming,"  said  Mrs.  Randolph,  rolling  up  the 
flags.     "I  shall  be  very  glad  to  see  him." 

He  certainly  had  no  reason  to  complain  of  his  wel- 
come ;  but  then  that  was  the  very  room  into  which  he 
had  walked,  in  a  hot  summer  midnight  of  1863,  to 
inquire  if  any  of  the  family  h^d  been  hurt  in  the  fight 
with  the  mob.  He  had  been  wonderfully  welcome 
then. 

Barry  had  not  been  able  to  remain  long  in  the 
house,  but  had  gone  out  after  any  more  news  that 
might  be  coming.  If  he  did  not  obtain  much  right 
away,  he  saw  something  worth  seeing  when  he  reached 
the  great  open  space  called  City  Hall  Square.  It  was 
packed  solid  with  men,  who  had  heard  all  there  was 


THE   GREAT    DAY    THAT   CAME.  247 

to  hear  and  were  absurdly  telling  it  over  again  to 
each  other  and  laughing  and  hurrahing. 

He  remained  there  awhile,  as  crazy  as  anybody 
else,  and  then  he  went  down  to  find  Dave.  Toward 
evening  they  came  home  together,  and  then  there  was 
another  great  time,  for  Major  Allen  also  had  gone 
and  returned,  for  he  had  been  invited  to  tea  and  to 
spend  the  evening.  It  was  a  good  deal  as  if  he  and 
Dave  and  Barry  had  all  been  soldiers  on  the  same  side 
or  on  both  sides,  to  hear  them  go  on,  and  Lilian 
caught  herself  speaking  of  Grant's  troops  and  Lee's, 
all  together  as  "our  army." 

"Mother,"  said  Barry  at  last,  "if  I  didn't  meet  old 
Hunker  to-day,  and  you  ought  to  have  heard  him!" 

"The  old  skinflint!"  she  muttered. 

"  I  met  him  away  down  on  Wall  Street, "  said  Barry, 
"and  I  couldn't  help  asking  him  how  he  felt,  and  1 
guess  I  found  out." 

"What  did  he  say?"  asked  Dave. 

"Say?"  laughed  Barry.  "Why,  said  he:  'Wall,  i 
daon't  see  haow  there's  goin'  to  be  any  more  money 
made,  if  there's  goin'  to  be  peace.  You  and  your 
mother'll  suffer  by  it.  Your  father,  he'll  have  to 
quit  the  army,  and  his  pay'U  stoj),  and  he'll  have  to 
find  somethin'  else  to  do.  So '11  all  of  'em.  I'm 
afraid  haouse  rents'!!  have  to  come  daown,  too." 

"Why,  the  heartless — I  don't  know  what  to  call 


248  THE    BATTLE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

him!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Eedding.  "Anyhow,  the  city 
paid  him  twice  over  for  the  damage  the  mob  did  to 
this  house.  What  is  it,  Diana?"  suddenly  asked 
Mrs.  Eedding,  rising  and  stepping  toward  the  door. 
"A  telegram!" 

She  tore  open,  a  little  nervously,  the  envelope  Diana 
held  out  to  her. 

"From  your  father,  Barry, "  she  said.  "It's  from 
Goldsboro,  North  Carolina.  Safe  and  well,  thank  the 
Lord!" 

When,  at  last.  Major  Allen  arose  to  go,  the  evening- 
was  drawing  toward  a  pretty  late  close.  Much  of  the 
excitement  had  worn  away  and  a  peaceful,  quiet  feel- 
ing had  come  in  place  of  it.  It  was  at  about  that 
time  that  Barry  remarked : 

"I  can  remember  away  back  in  1863,  wondering 
what  war  was  and  what  it  was  for.  I  found  out  in 
more  ways  than  one.  I  know  what  soldiers  are  good 
for,  too.  If  ever  the  country  wants  any  again,  it  can 
count  me  in.  I'll  be  as  ready  to  follow  the  flag  as 
father  was,  clean  through  to 


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book  is  filled  with  illustrations  which  will  be  prized  by  every  young  reader 
who  has  ever  visited  the  sea-shore,  or  cares  for  information  regarding  fishes, 
shells,  and  the  various  forms  of  marine  life. 

TA^  THE  BO  YHOOD  OF  LINCOLN.     A  Story  of 

J-  the   Black    Hawk    War  and  the    Timker    Schoolmaster.       By 

Hezekl\h   Butterworth,  author  of-  "  The   Zigzag   Books," 

"The  Log  School-house  on  the  Columbia,"  etc.     With  many 

Illustrations.     i2mo.     Cloth,  $1.50. 

Mr.  Butterworth  describes  the  boyhood  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  the 

strange  life  of  the  early  days  in  the  middle  West.     No  boy  or  girl  who  wishes 

to  understand  the  earlier  life  of  one  of  the  greatest  of  Americans  can  ignore 

this  book — a  romance  founded  upon  fact. 

'J^HE  BATTLE  OF  NEW   YORK.     By  William 

-*        O.  Stoddard,  author  of  "Little   Smoke,"   "Crowded  out  o' 

Crofield,"  etc.     With  11  Illustrations  and  colored  Frontispiece. 

i2mo.     Cloth,  $1.50. 

This  popular  author  presents  an  extraordinary  page  of  our  history,  which 

is  unfamiliar  to  readers  of  the  younger  generation.     He  tells  what  two  boys 

saw  and  experienced  during  the  great  draft  riots  in  New  York.     Side  by  side 

with  these  scenes  there  are  some  vivid  descriptions  of  a  boy's  adventures  at 

the  battle  of  Gettysburg. 

PNGLISH MAN'S  HAVEN.      By  W.   J.  Gordon, 
■*—^    author  of  "  The  Captain-General,"  etc.     With  S  full-page  Illus- 
trations.    l2mo.     Cloth,  $1  50. 

The  romantic  story  of  a  boy's  adventures  among  the  Indians  and  French 
of  Cape  Breton,  and  his  exploits  when  the  Americans,  and  afterward  the 
English,  captured  the  stronghold  of  Louisbourg.  A  thrilling  tale  of  our 
colonial  times. 

New  York  :  D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  1,  3,  &  5  Bond  Street. 


D.  APPLETON  &   CO.'S  PUBLICATIONS. 


L 


YOUNG    HEROES    OF    OUR    NAVY. 

lyTinSHIFMAN  PA  ULDING.     A  true  story  of  the 

IVl    Warofi8i2.     By  MOLLY  Elliot  Seawell,  author  of  "  Little 

Jarvis."     With   Six  full-page  Illustrations  by  J.  O.  Davidson 

and  George  Wharton  Edwards.     8vo.     Bound  in  blue  cloth, 

with  special  design  in  gold  and  colors.     $i.oo. 

"  The  book  gives  an  excellent  description  of  the  battle  of  Lake  Champlain,  told  in 
such  interesting  style,  and  so  well  blended  with  personal  adventure,  that  every  boy  will 
delight  to  read  it,  and  will  unavoidably  remember  its  main  features." — Spring^ehi 
Union. 

"  The  story  is  told  in  a  breezy,  pleasant  style  that  can  not  fail  to  capture  the  fancy 
of  young  readers,  and  imparts  much  historical  knowledge  at  the  same  time,  while  the 
illustrations  will  help  the  understanding  of  the  events  described.  It  is  an  excellent 
book  for  boys,  and  even  the  girls  will  be  interested  in  it." — Brooklyn  Statid,ird-Union. 

"  The  author  knows  how  to  tell  her  stories  to  captivate  the  boys,  and  the  character 
of  her  young  heroes  is  such  as  to  elevate  and  ennoble  the  reader." — Hartford  Even- 
ing I'ost. 

"  Young  Paulding  is  a  striking  character,  and  his  story  is  fascinating  and  inspiring. 
The  work  has  a  historical  basis,  and  is  as  instructive  as  it  is  entertaining." — Indian 
apolis  Sentinel. 

ITTLE  JARVIS.  The  story  of  the  heroic  mid- 
shipman of  the  frigate  "  Constellation."  By  Molly  Elliot 
Seawell.  With  Six  full-page  Illustrations  by  J.  O.  David- 
son and  George  Wharton  Edwards.  8vo.  Bound  uni 
formly  with  "  Midshipman  Paulding."     $i.oo. 

"  Founded  on  a  true  incident  in  our  naval  histor\'.  ...  So  well  pictured  as  to 
bring  both  smiles  and  tears  upon  the  faces  that  are  bent  over  the  volume.  It  is  in  ex- 
actly the  spirit  for  a  boy's  book.  ' — .Wjc  York  Home  Journal. 

"  Little  Jarvis  was  a  manly,  jolly  little  midshipman  on  board  the  good  ship  '  Con- 
stellation,' in  the  year  1800;  so  full  of  pranks  that  he  spent  most  of  his  time  in  the 
cross-trees  and  lived  prepared  for  this  inevitable  fate,  with  a  book  in  one  pocket  and  a 
piece  of  hard-tack  in  the  other.  .  .  .  His  boyish  ambition  was  to  smell  powder  in  a  real 
battle,  to  meet  and  conquer  a  live  French  man-of-war.  It  would  be  unfair  to  the  reader 
to  tell  how  Little  Jarvis  conducted  himself  when  at  length  the  '  Constellation  '  grappled 
with  the  frigate  '  Vengeance  '  in  deadly  combat." — Providence  youmal. 

"  The  author  makes  the  tale  strongly  and  simply  pathetic,  and  has  given  the  world 
what  will  make  it  better." — Hartford  Couraiit. 

"Not  since  Dr.  Edward  Everett  Hale's  classic,  'The  Man  without  a  Country,' 
has  there  been  published  a  more  stirring  lesson  in  patriotism." — Boston  Beacon. 

"  It  is  what  a  boy  would  call  '  a  real  boy's  book." — Charleston  News  and  Courier. 

"  This  is  the  story  which  received  the  prize  of  five  hundred  dollars  offered  by 
the  Youth's  Companion.  It  was  worthy  the  distinction  accorded  it." — Philadelphia 
Telegraph. 

"  It  is  well  to  multiply  such  books,  that  we  may  awaken  in  the  youth  that  read 
them  the  spirit  of  devotion  to  duty  of  which  Little  Jarvis  is  a  type.  We  shall  some 
day  have  need  of  it  all." — Army  and  Navy  Journal. 

"  Any  one  in  search  of  a  thoroughly  good  book  for  boys  need  look  no  further,  for 
this  ranks  among  the  very  best." — Milwaukee  Sentinel. 

New  York  :  D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  i,  3,  &  5  Bond  Street. 


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